UC-NRLF 


American 

Grape  Training 


BAII.BY 


The  Rural  P«fc3i»lt.1ng  Company. 


I 


Main 


AOBIO DKPT 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT  OF  THE 

STATE  VITICULTURAL  COMMISSION. 

ived,  January,  1896. 
Accession  No.   p3^~   •       Class  No.   . 


«/: 


AMERICAN 
GRAPE  TRAINING 


An  account  of  the  leading 
forms  now  in  use  of  Train- 
ing the  American  Grapes. 


L  H.  <BAILEY, 


NEW  YORK : 

THE  RURAL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1893. 


sa 


the  same  Author, 


Annals  Of  Horticulture  in  North  America 
for  the  year  1889.  A  witness  of  passing  events 
and  a  record  of  progress.  249  pages,  52  illus- 
trations. 

Annals  for  1890.  312  pages,  82  illustrations. 

Annals  for  1891.  416  pages,  77  illustrations. 

Annals  for  1892. 

***A  new  volume  is  issued  each  year,  each 
complete  in  itself.  Cloth,  $i  ;  paper,  60  cents. 

The  Horticulturist's  Rule-Book.  A  com- 
pendium of  useful  information  for  fruit-growers, 
truck-gardeners,  florists  and  others.  Second 
edition,  revised  to  the  opening  of  1892.  221 
pages  .Cloth,  $i ;  paper,  50 cents. 

The  Nursery  Book.  A  complete  guide  to 
the  multiplication  and  pollination  of  plants 
Seepages,  106 illustrations.  Cloth, |i;  paper,5oc. 

Cross-Breeding  and  Hybridizing.  With  a 
brief  bibliography  of  the  subject.  44  pages. 
Paper,  40  cents.  (Rural  Library  Series.) 

Field  Notes  on  Apple  Culture.  90  pages, 
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Talks  Afield :  About  plants  and  the  science 
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COPYRIGHTED   1893, 
BY   L     H.    BAILEY. 


ELECTROTYPED    AND    PRINTED   BY 
HORACE    M'FARLAND    CO.,    HARRISBURG,  PA. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Pages 
Introduction    .    .    ,    .    „    ...............    9-11 

Pruning    .....    ..........    .......  11-24 

CHARTER  ]I. 
Preliminary  Preparations    for    Training  —  The    Trellis  — 


25-33 
CHAPTER  III. 

The  Upright  Systems.     (Horizontal  Arm  Spur  System. 

High  Renewal.     Fan  Training)  ..........  34~55 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Drooping  Systems.  (True  or  Four-Cane  Kniffin. 
Modifications  of  the  Four-Cane  Kniffin.  The  Two- 
Cane  Kniffin  or  Umbrella  System.  The  'Low  or 
One-Wire  Kniffin.  The  Six-Cane  Kniffin.  Over- 
head, or  Arbor  Kniffin.  The  Cross-Wire  System. 
Renewal  Kniffin.  The  Munson  System)  .....  56-82 

CHAPTER  V. 

Miscellaneous   Systems.       (Horizontal    Training.       Post 

Training.     Arbors.     Remodeling  Old  Vines)      .    .    .  83-92 


I71ESIT 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

1.  Grape  Shoot 12 

2.  The  Bearing  Wood 13 

3.  Diagram 15 

4.  Spur 18 

5.  Renewal  Pruning 19 

6.  A  Newly  Set  Vineyard 21 

7.  Horizontal  Arm  Spur  Training 35 

8.  Horizontal  Arm  (Diagram) 36 

9.  Short  Arm  Spur  Training 38 

10.  The  Second  Season  of  Upright  Training 40 

11.  Making  the  T-Head t 42 

12.  The  Third  Season  of  High  Renewal 43 

13.  High  Renewal,  before  Pruning 44 

14.  High  Renewal,  Pruned 45 

15.  High  Renewal,  Pruned  and  Tied 46 

16.  High  Renewal  with  Four  Canes 47 

17.  High  Renewal  Complete 48 

18.  A  Slat  Trellis,  with  Upright  Training 51 

19.  Fan  Training,  after  Pruning 55 

20.  William  Kniffih v 57 

21.  The  True  Kniffin  Training 59 

22.  No.  21,  when  Pruned 60 

23.  A  Poor  Type  of  Kniffin    64 

24.  The  Y-Trunk  Kniffin 65 

25.  Umbrella  Training 67 

26.  A  Poor  Umbrella  System 68 

27.  Eight-Cane  Kniffin  (Diagram) 70 

28.  Overhead  Kniffin 71 

29.  Overhead  Kniffin 72 

30.  Overhead  Kniffin,  before  Pruning 73 

31.  Cross-Wire  Training 75 

32.  Cross-Wire  Training,  Outside  View 76 

33.  Munson  Training.    End  View 78 

34.  Munson  Training.    Side  View 79 

35-  Horizontal  Training 83 

36.  Low  Post  Training ' 86 

37.  A  Yearling  Graft 91 


PREFACE. 


'"PHIS  LITTLE  book  has  grown  out  of  an  attempt  to 
teach  the  principles  and  methods  of  grape  training 
to  college  students.  I  have  found  such  teaching 
to  be  exceedingly  difficult  and  unsatisfactory.  It  is  im- 
possible to  firmly  impress  the  lessons  by  mere  lectures. 
The  student  must  apprehend  the  principles  slowly  and  by 
his  own  effort.  He  must  have  time  to  thoroughly  as- 
similate them  before  he  attempts  to  apply  them.  I  there- 
fore cast  about  for  books  which  I  could  put  before  my 
class,  but  I  at  once  found  that  there  are  very  few  succinct 
accounts  of  the  subjects  of  grape  pruning  and  training, 
and  that  none  of  our  books  portray  the  methods  which 
are  most  largely  practised  in  the  large  grape  regions  of 
the  east.  My  only  recourse,  therefore,  was  to  put  my 
own  notes  into  shape  for  print,  and  this  I  have  now  done. 
And  inasmuch  as  all  grape-growers  are  students,  I  hope 
that  the  simple  account  will  find  a  use  beyond  the  class- 
room. 

This  lack  of  adequate  accounts  of  grape  training  at 
first  astonished  me,  but  is  not  strange  after  all.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  the  cultivation  of  the  native  grape  is 
of  very  recent  origin.  There  are  many  men  who  can 
remember  its  beginning  in  a  commercial  way.  It  seldom 
occurs  to  the  younger  generation,  which  is  familiar  with 


6  Preface . 

the  great  vineyards  in  many  states,  that  the  Concord  is 
yet  scarcely  forty  years  old,  and  that  all  grape  growing  in 
eastern  America  is  yet  in  an  experimental  stage.  Pro- 
gress has  been  so  rapid  in  recent  years  that  the  new 
methods  outstrip  the  books.  The  old  horizontal  arm 
spur  system,  which  is  still  the  chief  method  in  the  books, 
has  evolved  itself  into  a  high  renewal  training,  which  is 
widely  used  but  which  has  not  found  its  way  into  the 
manuals.  The  Kniffin  type  has  outgrown  its  long  period 
of  incubation,  and  is  now  taking  an  assured  place  in  vine- 
yard management.  So  two  great  types, opposed  in  method, 
are  now  contending  for  supremacy,  and  they  will  probably 
form  the  basis  of  all  future  developments.  This  evolution 
of  American  grape  training  is  one  of  the  most  unique  and 
signal  developments  of  our  modern  horticulture,  and  its 
very  recent  departure  from  the  early  doubts  and  trials  is 
a  fresh  illustration  of  the  youth  and  virility  of  all  hor- 
ticultural pursuits  in  North  America. 

This  development  of  our  grape^training  should  form  the 
subject  of  a  historical  inquiry.  I  have  not  attempted 
such  in  this  little  hand-book.  I  have  omitted  all  reference 
to  the  many  early  methods,  which  were  in  most  cases 
transportations  or  modifications  of  European  practices, 
for  their  value  is  now  chiefly  historical  and  their  insertion 
here  would  only  confuse  the  reader.  I  have  attempted 
nothing  more  than  a  plain  account  of  the  methods  now  in 
use  ;  in  fact,  I  am  aware  that  I  have  not  accomplished 
even  this  much,  for  there  are  various  methods  which  I 
have  not  mentioned.  But  these  omitted  forms  are  mostly 
of  local  use  or  adaptation,  and  they  are  usually  only  modi- 
fications of  the  main  types  here  explained.  It  is  impossible 
to  describe  all  the  variations  in  grape  training  in  a  book 
of  pocket  size  ;  neither  is  it  nece&sary.  Nearly  every 


Preface.  7 

grower  who  has  given  grape  raising  careful  attention  has 
introduced  into  his  own  vineyard  some  modifications 
which  he  thinks  are  of  special  value  to  him.  There  are 
various  curious  and  instructive  old  books  to  which  the 
reader  can  go  if  he  desires  to  know  the  history  and  evo- 
lution of  grape  training  in  America.  He  will  find  that  we 
have  now  passed  through  the  long  and  costly  experiment 
with  European  systems.  And  we  have  also  outgrown  the 
gross  or  long-wood  styles,  and  now  prune  close  with  the 
expectation  of  obtaining  superior  and  definite  results. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  rely  upon  my  own  resources  in 
the  preparation  of  this  book.  All  the  manuscript  has  been 
read  by  three  persons — by  George  C.  Snow,  Penn  Yan, 
N.  Y.,  William  D.  Barns,  Middle  Hope,  N.  Y.,  and  L. 
C.  Corbett,  my  assistant  in  the  Cornell  Experiment 
Station.  Mr.  Snow  is  a  grower  in  the  lake  region  of 
western  New  York,  and  employs  the  High  Renewal  system; 
Mr.  Barns  is  a  grower  in  the  Hudson  River  valley,  and 
practices  the  Kniffin  system  ;  while  Mr.  Corbett  has  been 
a  student  of  all  the  systems  and  has  practiced  two  or 
three  of  them  in  commercial  plantations.  These  persons 
have  made  many  suggestions  of  which  I  have  been  glad 
to  avail  myself,  and  to  them  very  much  of  the  value  of 
the  book  is  to  be  attributed. 

L.   H.  BAILEY, 

ITHACA,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  i,  1893. 


JOHN  ADLUM,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  appears  to  have  been 
the  first  person  to  systematically  undertake  the  cultivation 
and  amelioration  of  the  native  grapes.  His  method  of  train- 
ing, as  described  in  1823,  is  as  follows  :  One  shoot  is  allowed  to 
grow  the  first  year,  and  this  is  cut  back  to  two  buds  the  first  fall. 
The  second  year  two  shoots  are  allowed  to  grow,  and  they  are  tied 
to  "two  stakes  fixed  down  to  the  side  of  each  plant,  about  five  or 
six  feet  high  ;"  in  the  fall  each  cane  is  cut  back  to  three  or  four 
buds.  In  the  third  spring,  these  two  short  canes  are  spread  apart 
"  so  as  to  make  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degress  with  the  stem," 
and  are  tied  to  stakes  ;  this  season  about  two  shoots  are  allowed 
to  grow  from  each  branch,  making  four  in  all,  and  in  the  fall  the 
outside  ones  are  cut  back  to  three  or  four  buds  and  the  inner  ones 
to  two.  These  outside  shoots  are  to  bear  the  fruit  the  fourth  year, 
and  the  inside  ones  give  rise  to  renewal  canes.  These  two  outer 
canes  or  branches  are  secured  to  two  stakes  set  about  sixteen  inches 
upon  either  side  of  the  vine,  and  the  shoots  are  tied  up  to  the 
stakes,  as  they  grow.  The  renewal  shoots  from  the  inside  stubs 
are  tied  to  a  third  stake  set  near  the  root  of  the  vine.  The  outside 
branches  are  to  be  cut  away  entirely  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  year. 
This  is  an  ingenious  renewal  post  system,  and  it  is  easy  to  see 
how  the  Horizontal  Arm  and  High  Renewal  systems  may  have 
sprung  from  it. 


AMERICAN  GRAPE  TRAINING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION PRUNING. 

Pruning  and  training  the  grape  are  perplexed 
questions,  even  to  those  who  have  spent  a  life- 
time in  grape  growing.  The  perplexity  arises  from 
several  diverse  sources,  as  the  early  effort  to  trans- 
plant European  methods,  the  fact  that  many  sys- 
tems present  almost  equally  good  results  for  par- 
ticular purposes  and  varieties,  and  the  failure  to 
comprehend  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
operations. 

It  is  sufficient  condemnation  of  European  meth- 
ods when  applied  in  eastern  America,  to  say  that 
the  American  grapes  are  distinct  species  from  the 
European  grapes,  and  that  they  are  consequently 
different  in  habit.  This  fact  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  apprehended  clearly  by  the  early  American 
grape-growers,  even  after  the  native  varieties  had 
begun  to  gain  prominence.  American  viticulture, 
aside  from  that  upon  the  Pacific  slope  which  is 
concerned  with  the  European  grape,  is  an  industry 
of  very  recent  development.  It  was  little  more 

(9) 


io  American   Grape   Training. 

than  a  century  ago  that  the  first  American  variety 
gained  favor,  and  so  late  as  1823  that  the  first 
definite  attempt  was  made,  in  Adlum's  "Memoir 
on  the  Cultivation  of  the  Vine  in  America,  "  to  re- 
cord the  merits  of  native  grapes  for  purposes  of 
cultivation.  Even  Adlum's  book  was  largely  given 
to  a  discussion  of  European  varieties  and  prac- 
tices. In  1846  "Thomas'  Fruit  Culturist"  men- 
tioned only  six  "American  hardy  varieties,"  and 
all  of  these,  save  the  Catawba,  are  practically  not 
in  cultivation  at  the  present  time.  The  Concord 
appeared  in  1853.  American  grape  training  is, 
therefore,  a  very  recent  development,  and  we  are 
only  now  outgrowing  the  influence  of  the  practices 
early  imported  from  Europe.  The  first  decided 
epoch  in  the  evolution  of  our  grape  training  was 
the  appearance  o.f  Fuller's  "Grape  Culturist,"  in 
1864;  for  while  the  system  which  he  depicted  and 
which  yet  often  bears  his  name,  was  but  a  modifi-' 
cation  of  some  European  methods  and  had  been 
outlined  by  earlier  American  writers,  it  was  at  that 
time  placed  clearly  and  cogently  before  the  public 
and  became  an  accepted  practice.  The  funda- 
mental principles  of  pruning  are  alike  for  both 
European  and  American  grapes,  but  the  details  of 
pruning  and  training  must  be  greatly  modified  for 
different  species.  We  must  understand  at  the  out- 
set that  American  species  of  grapes  demand  an 
American  system  of  treatment. 

The    great   diversity  of    opinion     which    exists 


Pruning.  1 1 


amongst  the  best  grape  growers  concerning  the  ad- 
vantages of  different  systems  of  training  is  proof 
that  many  systems  have  merit,  and  that  no  one. 
system  is  better  than  others  for  all  purposes.  The 
grower  must  recognize  the  fact  that  the  most  im- 
portant factor  in  determining  the  merits  of  any 
system  of  training  is  the  habit  of  the  vine — as  its 
vigor,  rate  of  growth,  normal  size,  relative  size  and 
abundance  of  leaves,  and  season  and  character  of 
fruit.  Nearly  every  variety  differs  from  others  in 
habit  in  some  particular,  and  it  therefore  requires 
different  treatment  in  some  important  detail.  Varie- 
ties may  thrive  equally  well  upon  the  same  general 
system  of  training,  but  require  minor  modifications; 
so  it  comes  that  no  hard  and  fast  lines  can  be  laid 
down,  either  for  any  system  or  any  variety.  One  sys- 
tem differs  from  another  in  some  one  main  principle 
or  idea,  but  the  modifications  of  all  may  meet  and 
blend.  If  two  men  practice  the  Kniffin  system, 
therefore,  this  fact  does  not  indicate  that  they 
prune  and  train  their  vines  exactly  alike.  It  is  im- 
possible to  construct  rules  for  grape  training;  it  is, 
therefore,  important  that  we  understand  thoroughly 
the  philosophy  of  pruning  and  training,  both  in 
general  and  in  the  different  systems  which  are  now 
most  popular.  These  points  we  shall  now  con- 
sider. 

PRUNING. 

Pruning  and  training  are  terms  which  are    often 
confounded  when  speaking  of  the  grape,   but   they 


12 


American   Grape   Training. 


represent  distinct  operations.  Pruning  refers  to 
such  removal  of  branches  as  shall  insure  better  and 
larger  fruit  upon  the  remaining  portions.  Train- 
ing refers  to  the  disposition  of  the  different  parts 
of  the  vine.  It  is  true  that  different  methods  of 
training  demand  different  styles  of  pruning,  but  the 
modification  in  pruning  is  only  such  as  shall  adapt 
it  to  the  external  shape  and  size  of  the  vine,  and 
does  not  in  any  way  affect  the  principle  upon  which 
it  rests.  Pruning  is  a  necessity,  and,  in  essence, 

there    is    but    one 
method;     training 
is  largely  a  conven- 
ience,   and    there 
are  as  many  meth- 
ods as  there 
are     fan- 
cies   among 
grape  grow- 
ers. 

All  intelli- 
gent prun- 
ing of  the 

rape  rests  upon  the  fact 
that  the  fruit  is  borne  in  a 
few  clusters  near  the  base  of 
the  growing  shoots  of  the 
^season,  and  which  spring 
from  wood  of  last  year' s 
growth.  It  may  be  said  here  that  a  growing,  leafy 


I.    GRAPE    SHOOT. 


Pruning,,  ^     < 


branch  of  the  grape  vine  is  called  a  shoot  ;  a  ripened 
shoot  is  called  a  cane ;  a  branch  or  trunk  two  or 
more  years  old  is  called  an  arm.  Fig.  i  is  a 
shoot  as  it  appears  in  the  northern  states  in  June. 
The  whole  shoot  has  grown  within  a  month,  from 
a  bud.  As  it  grew,  flower  clusters  appeared  and 
these  are  to  bear  the  grapes.  Flowering  is  now 


2.    THE   BEARING   WOOD. 


over,  but  the  shoot  will  continue  to  grow,  perhaps 
to  the  length  of  ten  or  twenty  feet.  At  picking 
time,  therefore,  the  grapes  all  hang  near  the  lower 
end  or  base  of  the  shoots  or  new  canes,  as  in  fig.  2. 
Each  bud  upon  the  old  cane,  therefore,  produces  a 


14  American    Garpe   Training. 

new  cane,  which  may  bear  fruit  as  well  as  leaves. 
At  the  close  of  the  season,  this  long  ripened  shoot 
or  cane  has  produced  a  bud  every  foot  or  less,  from 
which  new  fruit-bearing  shoots  are  to  spring  next 
year.  But  if  all  these  buds  were  allowed  to  re- 
main, the  vine  would  be  overtaxed  with  fruit  the 
coming  year  and  the  crop  would  be  a  failure.  The 
cane  is,  therefore,  cut  off  until  it  bears  only  as  many 
buds  as  experience  has  taught  us  the  vine  should 
carry.  The  cane  may  be  cut  back  to  five  or  ten 
buds,  and  perhaps  some  of  these  buds  will  be  re- 
moved, or  "rubbed  off,"  next  spring  if  the  young 
growth  seems  to  be  too  thick,  or  if  the  plant  is 
weak.  Each  shoot  will  bear,  on  an  average/  two 
or  three  clusters.  Some  shoots  will  bear  no  clus- 
ters. From  one  to  six  of  the  old  canes,  each  bear- 
ing from  five  to  ten  buds,  are  left  each  spring. 
The  number  of  clusters  which  a  vine  can  carry 
well  depends  upon  the  variety,  the  age  and  size  of 
the  vine,  the  style  of  the  training,  and  the  soil  and 
cultivation.  Experience  is  the  only  guide.  A 
strong  vine  of  Concord,  which  is  a  prolific  variety, 
trained  upon  any  of  the  ordinary  systems  and  set 
nine  or  ten  feet  apart  each  way,  will  usually  carry 
from  thirty  to  sixty  clusters.  The  clusters  will 
weigh  from  a  fourth  to  a  half  pound  each.  Twelve 
or  fifteen  pounds  of  marketable  grapes  is  a  fair  or 
average  crop  for  such  a  Concord  vine,  and  twenty- 
five  pounds  is  a  very  heavy  crop. 

The    pruning    of    the    grape    vine,    therefore,   is 


Pruning.  1 5 

essentially  a  thinning  process.  In  the  winter  prun- 
ing, all  the  canes  of  the  last  season's  growth  are  cut 
away  except  from  two  to  six,  which  are  left  to  make 
the  fruit  and  wood  of  the  next  year ;  and  each  of 
these  remaining  canes  is  headed  back  to  from  three 
to  ten  buds.  The  number  and  length  of  the  canes 
which  are  left  after  the  pruning  depend  upon  the 
style  of  training  which  is  practiced.  A  vine  which 

tio       B9B8B7B6B5B4B3B2BIC  DAIA2A3A4A5A6A7A8A9AIO 


3.    DIAGR     M 

may  completely  cover  a  trellis  in  the  fall,  will  be 
cut  back  so  severely  that  a  novice  will  fear  that  the 
plant  is  ruined.  But  the  operator  bears  in  mind 
the  fact  that  the  grape,  unlike  the  apple,  pear  and 
peach,  does  not  bear  distinct  fruit-buds  in  the  fall, 
but  buds  which  produce  both  fruit  and  wood  the 
following  season. 

Let  us  now    suppose,    therefore,    that    we   have 
pruned  our  vine  in  the  fall  of  1891    to    two    canes, 


1 6  American    Grape   Training. 

each  bearing  ten  buds.  We  will  call  these  canes 
A  and  B,  respectively.  (Fig.  3.)  In  1892,  there- 
fore, twenty  shoots  grow  from  them,  and  each  of 
these  shoots  or  new  canes  branches,  or  produces 
laterals.  We  will  call  these  new  canes  of  1892, 
A  i,  A  2,  A3,  B  i,  B  2,  and  so  on.  Each  of  the 
new  canes  bears  at  the  base  about  two  clusters  of 
grapes,  giving  a  total  yield  of  about  forty  clusters. 
These  clusters  stand  opposite  the  leaves,  as  seen 
in  fig.  i.  In  the  axil  of  each  leaf  a  bud  is  formed 
which  will  produce  a  cane,  and  perhaps  fruit,  in 
1893.  If  each  of  these  new  canes,  A  i,  A  2,  etc., 
produce  ten  buds — which  is  a  moderate  number — 
the  vine  would  go  into  the  winter  of  1892-3  with 
200  buds  for  the  next  year's  growth  and  crop;  but 
these  buds  should  be  reduced  to- about  twenty,  as 
they  were  in  the  fall  of  1891.  That  is,  every  year 
we  go  back  again  to  the  same  number  of  buds,  and 
the  top  of  the  vine  gets  no  larger  from  year  to  year. 
We  must,  therefore,  cut  back  again  to  two  canes. 
We  cut  back  each  of  the  original  canes,  A  and  B, 
to  one  new  cane.  That  is,  we  leave  only  A  i  and  B  i , 
cutting  off  A  ?,  A  3,  etc.,  and  B  2,  63,  etc.  This 
brings  the  vine  back  to  very  nearly  its  condition  in 
the  fall  of  1891;  but  the  new  canes,  A  i  and  B  i, 
which  are  now  to  become  the  main  canes  by  being 
bent  down  horizontally,  were  borne  at  some  dis- 
tance— say  three  or  four  inches — from  the  base  of 
the  original  canes,  A  and  B,  so  that  the  permanent 
part  of  the  vine  is  constantly  lengthening  itself. 


Pruning.  17 

This  annually  lengthening  portion  is  called  a  spur. 
Spurs  are  rarely  or  never  made  in  this  exact  posi- 
tion, however,  although  this  diagrammatic  sketch 
illustrates  clearly  the  method  of  their  formation. 
The  common  method  of  spurring  is  that  connected 
with  the  horizontal  arm  system  of  training,  in  which 
the  canes  A  and  B  are  allowed  to  become  perma- 
nent arms,  and  the  upright  canes,  A  i,  A  2,  B  i,  B  2, 
B  3,  etc.,  are  cut  back  to  within  two  or  three  buds 
of  the  arms  each  year.  The  cane  A  i,  for  in- 
stance, is  cut  back  in  the  fall  of  1892  to  two  or 
three  buds,  and  in  1893  two  or  three  canes  will 
grow  from  this  stub.  In  the  fall  of  1893  only  one 
cane  is  left  after  the  pruning,  and  this  one  Js  cut 
back  to  two  or  three  buds  ;  and  so  on.  So  the  spur 
grows  higher  every  year,  although  every  effort  is 
made  to  keep  it  short,  both  by  reducing  the  num- 
ber of  buds  to  one  or  two  and  by  endeavoring  to 
bring  out  a  cane  lower  down  on  the  spur  every  few 
years.  Fig.  4  shows  a  short  spur  of  two  years' 
standing.  The  horizontal  portion  shows  the  per- 
manent arm.  The  first  upright  portion  is  the  re- 
mains of  the  first-year  cane  and  the  upper  portion 
is  the  second-year  cane  after  it  is  cut  back  in  the 
fall.  In  this  instance,  the  cane  is  cut  back  to  one 
fruiting  bud,  £,  the  small  buds,  a  a,  being  rubbed 
out.  There  are  serious  objections  to  spurs  in  any 
position.  They  become  hard  and  comparatively 
lifeless  after  a  time,  it  is  often  difficult  to  replace 
them  by  healthy  fresh  wood,  and  the  bearing  por- 


i8 


American    Grape    Training. 


tion  of  the  vine  is  constantly  receding  from  the 
main  trunk.  The  bearing  wood  should  spring  from 
near  the  central  portions  of  the  vine,  or  be  kept 
"  near  the  head,"  as  the  grape-growers  say.  In 
order  to  do  this,  it  is  customary  to  allow  two  canes 
to  grow  out  each  year  back  of  the  canes  A  i  and  B  i, 
or  from  the  head  of  the  vine  ;  these  canes  may  be 

designated  C  and  D.  (Fig. 
3.)  These  canes, C  and  D, 
are  grown  during  1892— 
when  they  may  bear  fruit 
like  other  canes — for  the 
sole  purpose  of  forming  the 
basis  of  the  bearing  top  in 
1893,  while  all  the  old  top, 
A  and  B,  with  the  second- 
ary canes,  A  i,  A  2,  B  i, 
B  2,  B  3,  etc. ,  is  cut  entirely 
away.  Here,  then,  are  two 
distinct  methods  of  forming  the  bearing  top  for  the 
succeeding  year  :  either  from  spurs,  which  are  the 
remains  of  the  previous  top  ;  or  from  renewals, 
which  are  taken  each  year  from  the  old  wood  near 
the  head  of  the  vine,  or  even  from  the  ground.  Re- 
newals from  the  ground  are  now  little  used,  how- 
ever, for  they  seldom  give  a  sufficient  crop  unless 
they  are  headed  in  the  first  fall  and  are  allowed  to 
bear  the  second  year.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  spur  and  renewal  methods  refer  entirely  to 
pruning,  not  to  training,  for  either  one  can  be  used 


Pruning. 


in  any  system  of  training.  Spur  pruning,  how- 
ever, is  growing  in  disavor  amongst  commercial 
grape-growers,  and  the  renewal  is  more  or  less 
used  in  all  systems  of  training. 

Fig.  5  illustrates  a  renewal  priming.  This  en- 
graving shows  the  head  of  a  vine  seven  years  old, 
and  upon  which  two  canes  are  allowed  to  remain 
after  each  annual  pruning.  The  portion  extending 


5.    RENEWAL   PRUNING. 

from  b  to  /  and  d  is  the 
base  of  the  bearing  cane  of 
1892.  In  the  winter  of 
1892-3,  this  cane  is  cut  off 
at  d,  and  the  new  cane,  e,  is  left  to  make  the  bear- 
ng  wood  of  1893.  Another  cane  sprung  from  /, 
but  it  was  too  weak  to  leave  for  fruiting.  It  was, 
therefore,  cut  away.  The  old  stub,  b,  f,  d,  will  be 
cut  away  a  year  hence,  in  the  winter  of  1893-4.  ^n 
the  meantime,  a  renewal  cane  will  have  grown 
from  the  stub  c,  which  is  left  for  that  purpose,  and 
the  old  cane,  b  d,  will  be  cut  off  just  beyond  it,  be- 
tween c  and  /.  In  this  way,  the  bearing  wood  is 
kept  close  to  the  head  of  the  vine.  The  wound  a 


20  American    Grape    Training. 

shows  where  an  old  stub  was  cut  away  this  winter, 
1892-3,  while  b  shows  where  one  was  cut  off  the 
previous  winter.  A  scar  upon  the  back  of  the 
head,  which  does  not  show  in  the  illustration, 
marks  the  spot  where  a  stub  was  cut  away  two 
years  ago,  in  the  winter  of  1890-1.  This  method 
of  pruning  can  be  kept  up  almost  indefinitely,  and 
if  care  is  exercised  in  keeping  the  stubs  short,  the 
head  will  not  enlarge  out  of  proportion  to  the 
growth  of  the  stock  or  trunk. 

Pruning  Young  Vines. — The  time  required  after 
planting  to  get  the  vine  onto  the  wires  or  trellis 
varies  with  the  strength  of  the  vine  when  set,  the 
variety,  the  soil  and  cultivation,  and  the  system  of 
training;  but,  as  a  rule,  the  training  begins  the 
second  or  third  year,  previous  to  which  time  the 
vine  is  pruned,  -not  trained.  Two-year-old  vines 
are  most  popular  for  planting,  although  in  the 
strong  varieties,  like  Concord  and  Niagara,  well- 
grown  yearling  vines  are  probably  as  good,  if  not 
better.  The  strong-growing  kinds  are  commonly 
set  from  eight  to  ten  feet  apart  in  the  row,  and  the 
rows  eight  or  nine  feet  apart.  Delawares  and 
other  small  vines  may  be  set  closer,  although  eight 
feet  is  preferable.  When  set,  the  vine  is  cut  back 
to  two  or  three  buds.  During  the  first  year,  the 
young  canes  are  usually  allowed  to  lie  upon  the 
ground  at  will,  as  seen  in  fig.  6.  In  the  fall  or 
winter,  all  the  canes  but  one  are  cut  off,  and  this 
one  is  cut  back  to  two  or  three  buds.  The  vine  is, 


Pruning. 


21 


therefore,  no  larger  at  the  expiration  of  a  year's 
growth  than  it  was  when  planted  ;  but  in  the  mean- 
time the  plant  has  become  thoroughly  established 
in  the  soil,  and  the  second  year's  growth 
should  be  strong  enough  to  form  the  basis  for  the 


6.    A   NEWLY   SET   VINEYARD. 


permanent  trunk  or  arm.  If,  however,  the  second 
year's  growth  is  weak,  it  may  be  cut  back  as  before, 
and  the  third  season's  growth  used  for  the  trunk. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  growth  of  the  first  year  is 
sometimes  carried  onto  the  wires  to  form  the  per- 
manent trunk  and  arms,  but  it  is  only  with  extra 
strong  vines  in  good  soil  that  this  practice  is  ad- 


22  American    Grape    Training. 

missible.      From  this  point,    the    treatment    of    the 
vine  is  discussed  under  training. 

When  to  Prune. — Grape  vines  may  be  pruned  at 
any  time  during  the  winter.  It  is  the  practice 
among  most  grape-growers  in  the  north  to  prune 
as  time  permits  from  November  to  late  in  February, 
or  even  early  March.  The  sap  flows  very  freely 
from  cuts  made  in  spring  and  early  summer,  caus- 
ing the  phenomenon  known  as  ' 'bleeding,"  or  in 
Europe  as  "weeping,"  and  in  order  to  prevent 
this  loss,  pruning  is  stopped  six  weeks  or  more  be- 
fore the  time  at  which  the  buds  usually  swell.  It 
is  yet  a  moot  point  if  this  bleeding  injures  the  vine, 
but  it  is'  a  safe  practice  to  prune  early.  The  vine 
is  cut  off  an  inch  or  two  beyond  the  last  bud  which 
it  is  desired  to  leave,  in  order  to  avoid  injury  to 
the  bud  from  the  drying  out  of  the  'end  of  the  cane. 
The  pruning  is  done  with  small  hand  pruning- 
shears.  The  canes  are  often  allowed  to  remain 
tied  to  the  wires  until  the  pruning  is  accomplished, 
although  it  is  the  practice  with  most  growers  who 
use  the  Kniffin  system  to  cut  the  strings  before 
pruning.  The  removal  of  the  severed  canes  is 
known  as  "stripping."  In  large  vineyards,  the 
pruner  sometimes  leaves  the  stripping  to  boys  or 
other  cheap  labor.  The  stripping  may  be  done  at 
any  time  after  the  pruning  is  performed  until 
spring.  It  must  be  done  before  the  growth  starts 
on  the  remaining  portions  of  the  vine,  however,  to 


D 

Pruning.  23 

avoid  injury  to  the  young  buds  when  tearing  the 
vines  off  the  trellis. 

Summer  Pruning. — There  is  much  discussion  as 
to  the  advisability  of  summer  pruning.  It  is  essen- 
tial to  the  understanding  of  the  question  that  the 
grower  bear  in  mind  that  this  summer  pruning  is 
of  two  kinds — the  removal  or  "  breaking  out  "  of 
the  superfluous  shoots,  and  heading-in  or  "stop- 
ping "  the  main  canes  to  keep  them  within  limits. 
The  superfluous  shoots  are  such  as  spring  from 
small,  weak  buds  or  those  which  break  from  the  old 
arms  or  trunk  of  the  vine.  Shoots  which  start  from 
the  very  base  of  the  old  cane  are  usually  weak  and 
should  be  removed.  Buds  in  this  position  are 
shown  at  a  a,  in  fig.  4.  The  secondary  or  axillary 
branches,  which  often  start  from  the  base  of  the 
season's  shoots,  should  be  removed  or  broken  out. 
These  superfluous  shoots  are  pulled  off  from  time 
to  time  as  they  appear,  or  the  buds  may  be  rubbed 
off  before  the  shoots  begin  to  grow. 

The  heading-in  of  the  main  canes,  while  desir- 
able for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  vine  within 
bounds,  is  apt  to  cause  a  growth  of  laterals  which 
choke  up  the  vine  and  which  do  not  mature,  and 
in  those  styles  of  training  in  which  very  little  wood 
is  allowed  to  grow,  the  practice  may  prevent  the 
development  of  a  sufficient  amount  of  leaf  surface 
to  properly  sustain  the  vine.  Vines  are  often 
weakened  by  summer  pruning.  These  dangers  can 
be  overcome  by  careful  attention,  however,  espe- 


24  American    Grape    Training. 

cially  by  heading-in  very  lightly  and  by  doing  it  as 
late  in  the  season  as  possible,  when  new  lateral 
growth  does  not  start  readily.  The  necessity  of 
much  heading-in  has  been  largely  obviated  in  late 
years  by  the  adoption  of  high  or  drooping  systems 
of  training,  and  by  setting  the  vines  far  apart.  The 
strong  varieties,  like  Concord,  Brighton  and  Ni- 
agara, should  be  set  ten  feet  apart  in  the  row, 
especially  if  grown  upon  the  Kniffin  system.  Ca- 
tawba,  being  a  very  upright  grower  and  especially 
well  adapted  to  upright  training,  may  be  set  eight 
feet  apart,  and  Delawares  are  often  set  as  close  as 
six  or  eight  feet.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  any 
variety  should  be  set  less  than  eight  feet  apart  for 
trellis  culture.  In  Virginia  and  southward,  where 
the  growth  is  large  because  of  the  long  seasons, 
vines  are  often  set  more  than  ten  feet  apart.  In 
the  South,  the  rows  should  run  north  and  south, 
that  the  fruit  may  be  shaded  from  midday  sun. 
The  only  summer  heading-in  now  generally  recom- 
mended is  the  clipping  of  the  tips  when  they  fall 
over  and  begin  to  touch  the  ground.  This  clip- 
ping is  often  done  with  a  sickle  or  sharp  corn-cutter. 
Objects  of  Pruning. — The  objects  of  pruning  the 
grape,  as  of  other  fruits,  are  five  : 

1.  To  produce  larger  and  better  fruit. 

2.  To  maintain  or  augment  the  vigor  of  the  vine. 

3.  To  keep  the   vine   within  manageable    limits. 

4.  To  facilitate  cultivation. 

5.  To  facilitate  spraying. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PRELIMINARY       PREPARATIONS      FOR       TRAINING  THE 

TRELLIS TYING. 

Training  the  grape  vine  is  practiced  for  the  pur- 
pose of  keeping  the  vine  in  convenient  shape  and 
to  allow  each  cluster  to  receive  its  full  amount  of 
space  and  light.  A  well  trained  vine  is  easily  cul- 
tivated and  sprayed,  and  the  grapes  are  readily 
harvested,  and  it  is  only  upon  such  vines  that  the 
best  and  fairest  fruit  is  uniformly  produced.  Some 
kind  of  training  is  essential,  for  a  vine  will  not  often 
bear  good  fruit  when  it  lies  upon  the  ground.  In 
essence,  there  are  three  general  types  or  styles  of 
training,  which  may  be  designated  as  the  upright, 
drooping  and  horizontal,  these  terms  designating 
the  direction  of  the  bearing  shoots.  The  upright 
systems  carry  two  or  more  canes  or  arms  along  a 
low  horizontal  wire,  or  sometimes  obliquely  across 
a  trellis  from  below  upwards,  and  the  shoots  are 
tied  up  as  they  grow  to  the  wires  above.  The  hori- 
zontal systems  carry  up  a  perpendicular  cane  or 
arm,  or  sometimes  two  or  more,  from  which  the 
shoots  are  carried  out  horizontally  and  are  tied  to 
perpendicular  wires  or  posts.  The  drooping  sys- 
tems, represented  in  the  Kniffin  and  post-training, 
carry  the  canes  or  arms  upon  a  high  horizontal  wire 

(25) 


26  American    Grape    7^ rain  ing. 

or  trellis  and  allow  the  shoots  to  hang  without  tying. 
To  one  or  another  of  these  types  all  the  systems  of 
American  grape-training  can  be  referred. 

There  is  no  system  of  training  which  is  best  for 
all  purposes  and  all  varieties.  The  strong-growing 
varieties  more  readily  adapt  themselves  to  the  high 
drooping  systems  than  the  weaker  varieties,  although 
the  Delaware  is  often  trained  on  a  comparatively 
low  Kniffin  with  good  effect.  The  high  or  droop- 
ing systems  are  of  comparatively  recent  date,  and 
their  particular  advantages  are  the  saving  of  labor 
in  summer  tying,  cheapness  of  the  trellis,  and  the 
facility  with  which  the  ground  can  be  cultivated 
without  endangering  the  branches  of  the  vine.  The 
upright  training  distributes  the  bearing  wood  more 
evenly  upon  the  vine  and  is  thought,  therefore,  to 
insure  more  uniform  fruit,  it  keeps  the  top  near  the 
root,  which  is  sometimes  thought  to  be  an  advan- 
tage, and  it  is  better  suited  to  the  stature  of  the  small- 
growing  varieties.  There  is,  perhaps,  a  greater 
temptation  to  neglect  the  vines  in  the  drooping 
systems  than  in  the  others,  because  the  shoots  need 
no  tying  and  do  not,  therefore,  demand  frequent  at- 
tention ;  while  in  the  upright  systems  the  shoots  soon 
become  broken  or  displaced  if  not  watched.  For 
very  large  areas,  or  circumstances  in  which  the  best 
of  care  cannot  be  given  the  vineyard,  the  Kniffin  or 
drooping  systems  are  perhaps  always  to  be  recom- 
mended. Yet  the  Kniffin  profits  as  much  from 
diligence  and  skill  as  the  other  systems  ;  but  it  will 


The   Trellis.  27 

give  better  results  than  the  others  under  partial 
neglect.  The  strong  varieties,  especially  those 
making  long  and  drooping  canes,  are  well  adapted 
to  the  Kniffin  styles  ;  but  the  smaller  sorts,  and 
those  stronger  sorts  which,  like  Catawba,  make  an 
upright  and  stocky  growth,  are  usually  trained  upon 
the  upright  systems.  But  the  merits  of  both  sys- 
tems are  so  various  and  even  so  little  understood, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  recommend  either  one  un- 
qualifiedly. The  advantages  in  either  case  are  often 
little  more  than  matters  of  personal  opinion.  It 
should  be  said,  however,  that  the  Kniffin  or  droop- 
ing systems  are  gaining  in  favor  rapidly,  and  are 
evidently  destined  to  overthrow  much  of  the  older 
upright  training.  This  fact  does  not  indicate,  how- 
ever, that  the  upright  system  is  to  be  entirely  su- 
perseded, but  rather  that,  it  must  be  confined  to 
those  varieties  and  conditions  for  which  it  is  best 
adapted.  The  two  systems  will  undoubtedly  sup- 
plement each  other.  The  horizontal  systems  are 
occasionally  used  for  choice  varieties,  but  they  are 
little  known. 

Making  the  Trellis. — The  fall  or  winter  following 
the  planting  of  the  vineyard,  the  trellis  is  begun  if 
the  upright  systems  are  used  ;  but  this  operation  is 
usually  delayed  a  year  longer  in  the  Kniffin  sys- 
tems, and  stakes  are  commonly  used,  or  at  least 
recommended,  during  the  second  season.  In  the 
South  the  trellis  is  made  the  first  year.  The  style 
of  trellis  will  depend  upon  the  style  of  training, 


28  American   Grape   Training. 

but  the  main  features  are  the  same  for  all. 
Strong  posts  of  some  durable  timber,  as  cedar, 
locust  or  oak,  are  placed  at  such  distance  apart 
that  two  vines  can  be  set  between  each  two.  If  the 
vines  are  set  nine  feet  apart,  the  posts  maybe  eight- 
een or  twenty  feet  apart,  and  a  vine  will  then  stand 
four  or  five  feet  from  each  post.  If  the  posts  in  the 
row  are  eighteen  feet  apart  and  the  rows  eight  feet 
apart,  about  330  posts  will  be  required  to  the  acre. 
Except  in  very  hard  and  stony  lands,  the  posts  are 
driven  with  a  heavy  maul,  although  many  people 
prefer  to  set  the  end  posts  in  holes,  thinking  that 
they  endure  the  strain  better.  In  all  loose  soils, 
however,  posts  can  be  made  as  firm  by  driving  as 
by  setting  with  a  spade.  All  posts  should  be  as  firm 
as  possible,  in  order  to  hold  up  the  heavy  loads  of 
vines  and  fruit.  In  setting  posts  on  hillsides,  it 
is  a  common  practice  to  lean  them  slightly  uphill, 
for  there  is  always  a  tendency  for  the  posts  to  tilt 
down  the  slope.  For  the  Kniffin  systems,  espe- 
cially for  the  strong-growing  grapes,  the  posts  must 
stand  six  or  six  and  one-half  feet  high  when  set, 
but  a  foot  less  will  usually  be  sufficient  for  the  up- 
right and  horizontal  systems.  The  posts  should 
stand  higher  at  first  than  is  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  wires,  for  they  will  need  to  be  driven 
down  occasionally  as  they  become  loose.  The  end 
posts  of  each  row  should  be  well  braced,  as  shown 
in  several  of  the  illustrations  in  this  volume. 

The  wire  ordinarily  used  is  No.  12,  except  for  the 


The   Trellis.  29 

top  wire  in  the  Kniffin  training,  which  is  usually 
No.  10,  as  the  greater  part  of  the  weight  is  then 
upon  the  top  wire.  No.  9  is  sometimes  used,  but 
it  is  heavier  than  necessary.  No.  14  is  occasion- 
ally used  for  the  middle  and  upper  rows  in  the 
upright  systems,  but  it  is  not  strong  enough.  The 
following  figures  show  the  sizes  and  weights  of 
these  and  similar  iron  and  steel  wires  : 


No.         Diameter  in  inches.        Weight  of  100  feet.        Feet  in  2,000  pounds. 

9 

.148 

5.80  pounds.                              34)483 

10 

•135 

4-83 

41,408 

ii 

.120 

3-82 

52,356 

12 

.105 

2.92 

68,493 

13 

.092 

2.24 

89,286 

H 

.080 

1.69 

118,343 

15 

.072 

i-37 

145,985 

16 

.063 

1.05         '                                    190,476 

The  plain  annealed  iron  wire  costs  about  3  cents 
per  pound,  and  the  galvanized — which  is  less  used 
for  vineyards — 3*^  cents.  Of  No.  12  wire,  about 
160  pounds  is  required  per  acre  for  a  single  run  on 
rows  eight  feet  apart,  and  about  500  pounds  for 
three  runs.  The  cost  of  No.  12  wire  per  acre,  for 
three  runs,  therefore,  is  about  $15. 

The  wire  is  secured  to  the  intermediate  posts  by 
staples  driven  in  firmly  so  that  the  wire  will  not  pull 
through  readily  of  its  own  weight,  but  still  loosely 
enough  to  allow  of  the  tightening  of  the  wires.  In 
other  words,  the  head  of  the  staple  should  not  quite 
touch  the  wire.  Grape  staples  are  of  three  lengths, 
about  an  inch,  inch  and  a  quarter,  and  an  inch  and 
a  half  respectively.  The  shortest  length  is  little 


30  American    Grape   Training. 

used.  The  medium  length  is  used  for  hard-wood 
posts  and  the  longest  for  soft  posts,  like  chestnut 
and  cedar.  These  staples  cost  five  cents  per  pound 
usually,  and  a  pound  of  the  medium  length  contains 
from  90  to  100  of  the  No.  10  wire  size.  An  acre, 
for  three  wires,  will  therefore  require,  for  this  size, 
about  nine  or  ten  pounds  of  staples.  In  windy 
regions,  the  wires  should  be  placed  upon  the  wind- 
ward side  of  the  posts 

There  are  various  devices  for  securing  the  wire 
to  the  end  posts,  but  the  commonest  method  is 
to  wind  them  about  the  post  once  and  secure  them 
with  a  staple,  or  twist  the  end  of  the  wire  back  upon 
itself,  forming  a  loop.  The  wires  should  be  drawn 
taut  to  prevent  sagging  with  the  weight  of  fruit 
and  leaves.  In  order  to  allo~W  for  the  contraction 
of  the  wires  in  winter,  some  growers  loosen  the 
wires  after  harvest  and  others  provide  some  device 
which  will  relieve  the  strain.  The  Yeoman's  Pat- 
ent Grape-Vine  Trellis  is  a  simple  and  effective 
lever-contrivance  attached  to  each  wire,  and  which 
is  operated  to  loosen  the  wires  in  fall  and  to  tighten 
them  in  spring.  The  end  post  is  sometimes  pro- 
vided upon  the  back  with  a  square-headed  pin 
which  works  tightly  in  an  inch  and  a  half  augur 
hole  and  about  which  the  end  of  the  wire  is  wound. 
A  square-headed  iron  wrench  operates  the  pin, 
while  the  tension  of  the  wire  around  the  side  of  the 
post  keeps  the  pin  from  slipping.  This  device  is 
not  durable,  however.  An  ingenious  man  can 


Tying.  31 

easily  contrive  some  device  for  relieving  the  tension, 
if  he  should  think  it  necessary.  As  a  matter  of 
practice,  however,  the  wires  soon  stretch  and  sag 
enough  with  the  burden  of  fruit  and  vines  to  take 
up  the  winter  contraction,  and  most  growers  do  not 
release  the  wires  in  fall.  It  will  be  found  neces- 
sary, in  fact,  to  tighten  the  wires  and  to  straighten 
up  the  posts  from  year  to  year,  as  they  become 
loose.  It  is  always  a  profitable  labor  to  tamp  the 
ground  firmly  about  all  the  posts  every  spring.  The 
wires  should  always  be  kept  tight  during  the  grow- 
ing season  to  prevent  the  whipping  of  the  vines  by 
wind.  This  is  especially  important  in  white  grapes, 
which  are  discolored  by  the  rubbing  of  leaves  and 
twigs.  Unless  the  vines  are  very  strong  it  will  be 
necessary  to  stretch  only  one  wire  the  first  winter. 

Trellises  are  often  made  of  slats,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  18,  but  these  are  always  less  durable  than  the 
wire  trellises  and  more  expensive  to  keep  in  repair  ; 
and  in  the  older  portions  of  the  country,  where 
timber  is  dear,  they  are  also  more  expensive  at  the 
outset.  They  catch  the  wind,  and,  not  being  held 
together  by  continuous  strands,  are  likely  to  blow 
down  in  sections.  Fuller  particulars  concerning 
the  styles  of  trellis  are  given  in  the  discussions  of 
the  different  systems  of  training. 

Tying. — Probably  the  best  material  for  tying  the 
canes  and  shoots  to  the  trellis  is  raffia.  This  is  a 
bast-like  material  which  comes  in  skeins  and  which 
can  be  bought  of  seedsmen  and  nurserymen  for 


32  American   Grape   Training. 

about  20  cents  a  pound.  A  pound  will  suffice  to 
tie  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  upright  training  through- 
out the  season.  Raffia  is  obtained  from  the  strip- 
pings  of  an  oriental  palm  {Raphia  Ruffia],  Wool- 
twine  is  also  still  largely  used  for  tying,  but  it  is 
not  so  cheap  and  handy  as  raffia,  and  it  usually  has 
to  be  cut  when  the  trellis  is  stripped  at  the  winter 
pruning,  while  the  raffia  breaks  with  a  quick  pull  of 
the  vine.  Some  complain  that  the  raffia  is  not  strong 
enough  to  hold  the  vine  during  the  season,  but  it 
can  easily  be  doubled.  Osier  willows  are  much 
used  for  tying  up  the  canes  in  the  spring,  and  also 
for  summer  tying,  especially  in  the  nursery  regions 
where  the  slender  trimmings  of  the  cultivated  osier 
willows  are  easily  procured.  Wild  willows  are 
often  used  if  they  can  be  obtained  handily.  These 
willows  are  tied  up  in  a  small  bundle,  which  is  held 
upon  the  back  above  the  hips  by  a  cord  passed 
about  the  body.  The  butts  project  under  the  right 
hand,  if  the  person  is  right-handed,  and  the  strands 
are  pulled  out  as  needed.  The  butt  is  first  used, 
the  tie  being  made  with  a  twist  and  tuck,  the  strand 
is  then  cut  off  with  a  knife,  and  the  twig  is  operated 
in  like  manner  until  it  is  used  up.  When  wool- 
twine  is  used,  the  ball  is  often  held  in  front  of  the 
workman  by  a  cord  which  is  tied  about  it  and  then 
passed  about  the  waist.  The  ball  is  unwound  from 
the  inside,  and  it  will  hold  its  shape  until  the  end 
becomes  so  short  that  it  will  easily  drag  upon  the 
ground.  Some  workmen  carry  the  ball  in  a  bag, 


Tying.  33 

after  the  manner  of  carrying  seed-corn.  Raffia  is 
not  so  easily  carried  in  the  field  as  the  wool-twine 
or  the  willow,  and  this  fact  interferes  with  its  popu- 
larity. Green  rye-straw,  cut  directly  from  the 
field,  is  much  used  for  tying  the  shoots  in  summer. 
Small  wire,  about  two-thirds  the  size  of  broom- 
wire,  is  used  occasionally  for  tying  up  the  canes  in 
spring,  but  it  must  be  used  with  care  or  it  will  in- 
jure the  vine.  Corn-husks  are  also  employed  for 
this  purpose  when  they  can  be  secured.  Bass-bark 
is  sometimes  used  for  tying,  but  in  most  of  the 
grape  regions  it  is  difficult  to  secure,  and  it  has  no 
advantage  over  raffia. 

It  is  very  important  that  the  canes  be  tied  up 
early  in  spring,  for  the  buds  are  easily  broken  after 
they  begin  to  swell.  These  canes  are  tied  rather 
firmly  to  the  wires  to  hold  them  steady;  but  the 
growing  shoots,  which  are  tied  during  the  summer, 
are  fastened  more  loosely,  to  allow  of  the  necessary 
increase  in  diameter. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    UPRIGHT    SYSTEMS. 

The  upright  systems  are  the  oldest  and  best 
known  of  the  styles  of  American  grape  training. 
They  consist,  essentially,  in  carrying  out  two 
horizontal  canes,  or  sometimes  arms,  upon  a  low 
wire  and  training  the  shoots  from  them  vertically 
upwards.  These  shoots  are  tied  to  the  upper 
wires  as  they  grow.  This  type  was  first  clearly 
and  forcibly  described  in  detail  by  A.  S.  Fuller,  in 
his  " Grape  Culturist,"  in  1864,  and  it  became 
known  as  the  Fuller  system,  although  it  was  prac- 
ticed many  years  previous  to  this  time. 

Horizontal  Arm  Spur  System, — There  are  two  types 
or  styles  of  this  upright  system.  The  older  type  and 
the  one  described  in  the  books/  is  known  as  the 
Horizontal  Arm  Spur  training.  In  this  method, 
the  two  horizontal  branches  are  permanent,  or,  in 
other  words,  they  are  true  arms.  The  canes  are 
cut  back  each  fall  to  upright  spurs  upon  these  arms, 
as  explained  on  page  15  (fig.  4.)  Two  shoots  are 
often  allowed  to  grow  from  each  of  these  spurs,  as 
shown  in  fig.  7.  These  spurs  become  overgrown 
and  weak  after  a  few  years,  and  they  are  renewed 
from  new  shoots  which  spring  from  near  their  base 

t34) 


36  American    Grape   Training. 

or  from  the  arm  itself.  Sometimes  the  whole  arm 
is  renewed  from  the  head  of  the  vine,  or  even  from 
the  ground. 

The  number  of  these  upright  canes  and  their  dis- 
tance apart  upon  these  permanent  arms  depend 
upon  the  variety,  the  strength  of  the  vine  and  soil 
and  the  fancy  of  the  grower.  From  twelve  to 


8.  HORIZONTAL  ARM.  (Diagram.) 

twenty  inches  apart  upon  the  arm  is  the  common 
distance.  If  a  vine  is  strong  enough  to  carry  five 
canes  and  the  vines  are  eight  feet  apart,  then  the 
canes  are  distributed  at  intervals  of  about  twenty 
inches.  Some  very  strong  vines  of  vigorous 
varieties  will  carry  eight  canes  upon  the  two  arms 


The   Upright  System.  37 

together,  and  in  this  case  the  canes  stand  about 
a  foot  apart.  In  the  fall  or  winter,  the  cane 
is  cut  away  and  the  strongest  new  cane  which 
springs  from  its  base  is  left  for  the  bearing  wood 
of  the  following  year.  This  new  cane  is  itself 
headed  in  to  the  height  of  the  trellis  ;  that  is,  if 
the  uppermost  and  lowermost  wires  are  34 
inches  apart — as  they  are  in  the  Brocton  vineyards 
of  western  New  York,  where  this  system  is  largely 
used — this  new  cane  is  shortened  in  to  34  inches 
long.  Upon  this  length  of  cane  there  will  be  about 
seven  good  buds  in  the  common  varieties. 

A  modification  of  this  horizontal  arm  system  is 
shown  in  fig.  9.  It  is  used  about  Forestville, 
in  Chautauqua  county,  New  York.  The  arms  in 
this  case  are  very  short,  and  canes  are  taken  out 
only  at  two  or  three  places.  The  picture  shows  a 
vine  in  which  two  canes  are  taken  from  the  end  of 
each  arm,  making  four  canes  for  the  bearing  top  of 
the  vine.  These  canes  are  cut  back  to  spurs  in  the 
fall,  as  explained  in  the  above  paragraph.  Some- 
times one  or  two  other  canes  are  taken  out  of  these 
arms  nearer  the  main  trunk.  The  advantages 
urged  for  this  style  of  training  are  the  stronger 
growth  which  is  insured  by  so  few  canes,  and  the 
small  amount  of  old  or  permanent  wood  which  is 
left  to  each  vine. 

The  horizontal  arm  training  is  less  popular  than 
it  was  twenty  years  ago.  It  has  serious  faults, 
especially  in  the  persistence  of  the  old  spurs,  and 


The   Upright  System.  39 

probably  will  eventually  give  place  to  other  systems. 
Aside  from  the  spur  pruning,  the  system  is  much 
like  the  following,  which  is  a  modification  to  allow 
of  a  renewal  pruning  and  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred  for  further  details.  This  modification, 
which  may  be  called  the  High  Renewal,  and  which 
is  one  of  the  most  serviceable  of  any  of  the  styles 
of  training,  although  it  has  never  been  fully  de- 
scribed, we  shall  now  consider. 

The  HigJi  Renewal,  or  upright  training  which  is 
now  very  extensively  employed  in  the  lake  regions 
of  New  York  and  elsewhere,  starts  the  head  or 
branches  of  the  vine  from  eighteen  to  thirty  inches 
from  the  ground.  The  ideal  height  for  most  varie- 
ties is  probably  about  two  feet  to  the  first  wire, 
although  thirty  inches  is  better  than  eighteen.  If 
the  vines  are  lower  than  two  feet,  they  are  liable  to 
be  injured  by  the  plow  or  cultivator,  the  earth  is 
dashed  against  the  clusters  by  heavy  rains,  and  if 
the  shoots  become  loose  they  strike  the  ground 
and  the  grapes  are  soon  soiled.  A  single  trunk  or 
arm  is  carried  up  to  the  required  height,  or  if  good 
branches  happen  to  form  lower  down,  two  main 
canes  are  carried  from  this  point  up  to  the  required 
distance  to  meet  the  lower  wire,  so  that  the  trunk  be- 
becomes  Y-shaped,  as  seen  in  figs.  10,  16  and  17.  In 
fact,  vineyardists  usually  prefer  to  have  this  head  or 
crotch  a  few  inches  below  the  lowest  wire,  to  facili- 
tate the  spreading  and  placing  of  the  canes.  The 
trellis  for  the  upright  systems  nearly  always  com- 


4o 


American   Grape    Training. 


prises  three  wires,  although  only  two  are  sometimes 
used  for  the  smaller  growing  varieties,  and  very 
rarely  four  are  used  for  the  strongest  kinds,  al- 
though this  number  is  unnecessary.  The  lowest 
wire  is  stretched  at  eighteen,  twenty-four  or  thirty 
inches  from  the  ground,  and  the  two  upper  ones 


10.     THE   SECOND   SEASON   OF    UPRIGHT   TRAINING. 

are  placed  at  distances  of  eighteen  or  twenty  inches 
apart. 

The  second  season  after  planting  should  see  the 
vine  tied  to  the  first  wire.  Fig.  10  is  a  photograph 
taken  in  July,  1892,  of  a  Concord  vine  which  was 
set  in  the  spring  of  1891.  In  the  fall  of  1891  the 
vine  was  cut  back  to  three  or  four  buds,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1892  two  of  these  buds  were  allowed  to 


The   Upright -System.  41 

make  canes.  These  two  canes  are  now  tied  to  the 
wire,  which  was  stretched  in  the  spring  of  1892. 
In  this  case,  the  branches  start  near  the  surface  of 
the  ground.  Sometimes  only  a  single  strong  shoot 
grows,  and  in  order  to  secure  the  two  branches  it 
is  broken  over  where  it  passes  the  wire,  and  is  us- 
ually tied  to  a  stake  to  afford  support.  Fig.  1 1 
shows  this  operation.  A  bud  will  develop  at  the 
bend  or  break,  from  which  a  cane  can  be  trained 
in  the  opposite  direction  from  the  original  portion, 
and  the  T-head  is  secured. 

The  close  of  the  second  season  after  planting, 
therefore,  will  usually  find  the  vine  with  two  good 
canes  extending  in  opposite  directions  and  tied  to 
the  wire.  The  pruning  at  that  time  will  consist  in 
cutting  off  the  ends  of  these  canes  back  to  firm  and 
strong  wood,  which  will  leave  them  bearing  from 
five  to  eight  buds.  The  third  season,  shoots  will 
grow  upright  from  these  buds  and  will  be  tied  to 
the  second  wire,  which  has  now  been  supplied. 
Late  in  the  third  season  the  vine  should  have  much 
the  appearance  of  that  shown  in  fig.  12.  The 
third  wire  is  usually  added  to  the  trellis  at  the 
close  of  the  second  season,  at  the  same  time  that 
the  second  wire  is  put  on  ;  but  occasionally  this  is 
delayed  until  the  close  of  the  third  season.  Some 
of  the  upright  shoots  may  bear  a  few  grapes  this 
third  season,  but  unless  the  vines  are  very  strong 
the  flower  clusters  should  be  removed;  and  a  three- 
year-old  vine  should  never  be  allowed  to  bear 


42  American   Grape   2 raining. 

heavily.      It  must  be  remembered,    however,    that 
both  these  horizontal  canes,  with  all  their  mass    of 


herbage,  are  to  be  cut  away  in 
the  fall  or  winter  of  the  third 
year.  Some  provision  must  have 
been  made,  therefore,  for  the  top 
for  the  fourth  year.  It  will  be 
recalled  that  in  discussing  the  re- 
newal pruning  (page  16,  fig.  5),  it 
was  found  that  two  or  more 
shoots  are  allowed  to  grow  each 
year  to  form  the' basis  of  the  top 
the  following  year.  In  fig.  12 
three  or  four  such  shoots  can  be 
seen  springing  from  the  Y-shaped 
portion  in  the  center  of  the  vine. 
These  shoots  or  canes  are  to  be 
bent  down  to  the  lowest  wire  next 
spring,  and  the  bearing  shoots  will 
arise  from  them.  This  process 
will  be  seen  at  a  glance  from 
figs.  13,  14  and  15.  The  first 
shows  a  full  grown  old  vine, 
ii.  MAKING  THE  trained  on  three  wires.  Fig.  14 
shows  the  same  vine  when  pruned. 
Two  long  canes,  with  six  or  eight  buds  each,  are 


The   Upright  System. 


45 


left  to  form  the  top  of  the  following  year.  The 
two  stubs  from  which  the  renewal  canes  are  to 
grow  for  the  second  year's  top  are  seen  in  the  cen- 
ter. In  the  fall  of  the  next  year,  therefore,  these 
two  outside  canes  will  be  cut  away  to  the  base  of 


,    14.    HIGH  RENEWAL,      PRUNED. 

these  renewal  stubs  ;  and  the  renewal  canes,  in  the 
meantime,  will  have  made  a  year's  growth.  These 
renewal  stubs  in  this  picture  are  really  spurs,  as 
will  be  seen;  that  is,  they  contain  two  ages  of 
wood.  It  is  the  purpose,  however,  to  remove  these 
stubs  or  spurs  every  two  or  three  years  at  most, 


w 


The   Upright  System. 


47 


and  to  bring  new  canes  directly  from  the  old  wood 
or  head.  If  possible,  the  renewal  cane  is  brought 
from  a  new  place  on  the  old  wood  every  year  in 
order  to  avoid  a  spur.  Such  was  the  case  in  the 
vine  shown  in  fig.  5,  page  19.  Fig.  15  shows  the 
same  vine  tied  down  to  the  lowest  wire.  Two 
ties  have  been  made  upon  each  cane.  Fig.  16 


which  four  canes 
form  the  top  for 
The  stubs  for  the 
in  the  Y.  It  is 
more  than  two 
in  strong-growing 
cord.  Some- 


shows  a  vine  in 
have  been  left  to 
the  following  year, 
renewals  can  be  seen 
customary  to  leave 
canes,  occasionally, 
varieties  like  Con- 
times  four  and  occa- 

I  o.      HIGH 

left.  If  four  canes  NEWAL  WITH  are  left,  two  may 
be  tied  together  in  FOURCANES-  each  direction 
upon  the  bottom  wire.  If  six  are  used,  the  two 
extra  ones  should  be  tied  along  the  second  wire, 
parallel  with  the  lowest  ones.  These  extra  canes 
are  sometimes  tied  obliquely  across  the  trellis,  but 
this  practice  should  be  discouraged,  for  the  usual 
tendency  of  the  vine  is  to  make  its  greatest  growth 
at  the  top,  and  the  lower  buds  may  fail  to  bear. 

The  ideal  length  of   the    two   canes    varies    with 
different  varieties  and  the  distance  apart    at  which 


The   Upright  System.  49 

the  vines  are  set.  Very  strong  kinds,  like  Con- 
cord and  Niagara,  can  carry  ten  or  twelve  buds  on 
each  cane,  especially  if  the  vines  are  set  more  than 
eight  feet  apart.  Fig.  17  shows  half  of  a  Concord 
vine  in  which  about  ten  buds  were  left  on  each 
cane.  These  strong  sorts  can  often  carry  forty  or 
fifty  buds  to  the  vine  to  advantage,  but  when  this 
number  is  left  the  canes  should  be  four,  as  explained 
in  the  last  paragraph.  In  Delaware  and  other  weak- 
growing  varieties,  twenty  or  twenty-five  buds  to  the 
vine  should  be  the  maximum  and  only  two  canes 
should  be  left.  In  short-jointed  varieties,  the  canes 
are  usually  cut  to  the  desired  length — four  to  six  feet 
— even  if  too  great  a  number  of  buds  is  left,  but  the 
shoots  which  spring  from  these  extra  buds  are 
broken  out  soon  after  they  start.  A  Delaware 
vine  which  has  made  an  unusually  short  or  weak 
growth  will  require  fewer  buds  to  be  left  for  next 
year's  top  than  a  neighboring  vine  of  the  same  va- 
riety which  has  made  a  strong  growth.  The  Ca- 
tawba,  which  is  a  short  but  very  stiff  grower,  is  usually 
cut  back  to  six  or  eight  buds,  as  seen  in  figs.  13, 
14  and  15.  The  grower  soon  learns  to  adjust  the 
pruning  to  the  character  of  the  vine  without  effort. 
He  has  in  his  mind  a  certain  ideal  crop  of  grapes, 
perhaps  about  so  many  bunches,  and  he  leaves 
enough  buds  to  produce  this  amount,  allowing, 
perhaps,  ten  per  cent,  of  the  buds  for  accidents 
and  barren  shoots.  He  knows,  too,  that  the  canes 
should  always  be  cut  back  to  firm,  well-ripened 


50  American    Grape    Training. 

wood.  It  should  be  said  that  mere  size  of  cane 
does  not  indicate  its  value  as  a  fruit-bearing  branch. 
Hard,  smooth  wood  of  medium  size  usually  gives 
better  results  than  the  very  large  and  softer  canes 
which  are  sometimes  produced  on  soils  rich  in 
nitrogenous  manures.  This  large  and  overgrown 
wood  is  known  as  a  "bull  cane."  A  cane  does  not 
attain  its  full  growth  the  first  year,  but  will  increase 
in  diameter  during  the  second  season.  The  tying 
therefore,  should,  be  sufficiently  loose  or  elastic  to 
allow  of  growth,  although  it  should  be  firm  enough 
to  hold  the  cane  constantly  in  place.  The  cane 
should  not  be  hung  from  the  wire,  but  tied  close  to 
it,  provision  being  made  for  the  swelling  of  the 
wood  to  twice  its  diameter 

The  shoots  are  tied  to  the  second  wire  soon  after 
they  pass  it,  or  have  attained  firmness  enough  to 
allow  of  tying,  and  the  same  shoots  are  tied  again 
to  the  top  wire.  All  the  shoots  do  not  grow  with 
equal  rapidity,  and  the  vineyard  must  be  gone  over 
more  than  twice  if  the  shoots  are  kept  properly 
tied.  Perhaps  four  times  over  the  vineyard  will  be 
all  that  is  necessary  for  careful  summer  tying. 
Many  vineyardists  tie  only  once  or  twice,  but  this 
neglect  should  be  discouraged.  This  tying  is 
mostly  done  with  green  rye  straw  or  raffia.  A  piece 
of  straw  about  ten  inches  long  is  used  for  each  tie, 
it  usually  being  wrapped  but  once  about  the  shoot. 
The  knot  is  made  with  a  twist  and  tuck.  If  raffia 
is  used,  a  common  string-knot  is  made.  When  the 


52  American    Grape    Training. 

shoots  reach  the  top  of  the  trellis,  they  are  usually 
allowed  to  take  care  of  themselves.  The  Catawba 
shoots  stand  n2arly  erect  above  the  top  wire  and 
ordinarily  need  no  attention.  The  long-growing 
varieties  will  be  likely  to  drag  the  shoots  upon  the 
ground  before  the  close  of  the  season.  If  these 
tips  interfere  with  the  cultivation,  they  may  be 
clipped  off  with  a  sickle  or  corn-cutter,  although 
this  practice  should  be  delayed  as  long  as  possible 
to  prevent  the  growth  of  laterals  (see  page  21).  It 
is  probably  better  to  avoid  cutting  entirely.  Some 
growers  wind  or  tie  the  longest  shoots  upon  the  top 
wire,  as  seen  in  fig.  17.  It  is  probably  best,  as  a 
rule,  to  allow  the  shoots  to  hang  over  naturally,  and 
to  clip  them  only  when  they  seriously  interfere  with 
the  work  of  the  hoe  and  cultivator.  The  treatment 
for  slat  trellises,  as  shown  in  fig.  18,  is  the  same  as 
on  wire  trellises,  except  that  longer  strings  must  be 
used  in  tying. 

It  is  apparent  that  nearly  or  quite  all  the  fruit 
in  the  High  Renewal  is  borne  between  the  first  and 
second  wires,  at  the  bottom  of  the  trellis.  If  the 
lower  wire  is  twenty-four  or  thirty  inches  high,  this 
fruit  will  hang  at  the  most  convenient  height  for 
picking.  The  fruit  trays  are  set  upon  the  ground, 
and  both  hands  are  free.  The  fruit  is  also  pro- 
tected from  the  hot  suns  and  from  frost  ;  and  if  the 
shoots  are  properly  tied,  the  clusters  are  not  shaken 
roughly  by  the  wind.  It  is,  of  course,  desirable 
that  all  the  clusters  should  be  fully  exposed  to  light 


The   Upright  System.  53 

and  air,  and  all  superfluous  shoots  should,  there- 
fore, be  pulled  off,  as  already  explained  (page  21). 
In  rare  cases  it  may  also  be  necessary,  for  this  pur- 
pose, to  prune  the  canes  which  droop  over  from  the 
top  of  the  trellis. 

After  a  few  years,  the  old  top  or  head  of  the  vine 
becomes  more  or  less  weak  and  it  should  be  renewed 
from  the  root.  The  thrifty  vineyardist  anticipates 
this  circumstance,  and  now  and  then  allows  a  thrifty 
shoot  which  may  spring  from  the  ground  to  remain. 
This  shoot  is  treated  very  much  like  a  young  vine, 
and  the  head  is  formed  during  the  second  year 
(page  16,  bottom).  If  it  should  make  a  strong  growth 
during  the  first  year  and  develop  stout  laterals,  it 
may  be  cut  back  only  to  the  lowest  wire  the 
first  fall  ;  but  in  other  cases,  it  should  be  cut  back 
to  two  or  three  buds,  from  one  of  which  a  strong 
and  permanent  shoot  is  taken  the  second  year. 
When  this  new  top  comes  into  bearing,  the  old  trunk 
is  cut  off  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  or  below  if 
possible.  A  top  will  retain  its  vigor  for  six  or  eight 
years  under  ordinary  treatment,  and  sometimes 
much  longer.  These  tops  are  renewed  from  time 
to  time  as  occasion  permits  or  demands,  and  any 
vineyard  which  has  been  bearing  a  number  of  years 
will  nearly  always  have  a  few  vines  in  process  of 
renewal.  The  reader  should  not  receive  the  im- 
pression, however,  that  the  life  or  vitality  of  a  vine 
is  necessarily  limited.  Vines  often  continue  to  bear 
for  twenty  years  or  more  without  renewal  ;  but  the 


54  American   Grape   Training. 

head  after  a  time  comes  to  be  large  and  rough 
and  crooked,  and  often  weakened  by  scars,  and 
better  results  are  likely  to  be  obtained  if  a  new, 
clean  vine  takes  its  place. 

The  High  Renewal  is  extensively  used  in  the 
lake  region  of  Western  New  York,  for  all  varieties. 
It  is  particularly  well  adapted  to  Delaware,  Cataw- 
ba,  and  other  weak  or  short  varieties.  When  syste- 
matically pursued,  it  gives  fruit  of  the  highest  ex- 
cellence. This  High  Renewal  training,  like  all  the 
low  upright  systems,  allows  the  vines  to  be  laid 
down  easily  in  winter,  which  is  an  important  con- 
sideration in  many  parts  Cf  Canada  and  in  the 
colder  northern  states. 

Fan  Training. — A  system  much  used  a  few  years 
ago  and  still  sometimes  seen,  is  one  which  renews 
back  nearly  to  the  ground  each  year,  and  carries 
the  fruiting  canes  up  in  a  fan-shaped  manner.  This 
system  has  the  advantages  of  dispensing  with 
much  of  the  old  wood,  or  trunk,  and  facilitating 
laying  down  the  vine  in  winter  in  cold  climates. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  has  the  disadvantages  of  bear- 
ing the  fruit  too  low — unless  the  lower  clusters  are 
removed — and  making  a  vine  of  inconvenient  shape 
for  tying.  It  is  little  used  at  present.  Fig.  19 
shows  a  vine  pruned  for  fan-training,  although  it  is 
by  no  means  an  ideal  vine.  This  vine  has  not  been 
properly  renewed,  but  bears  long,  crooked  spurs, 
from  which  the  canes  spring.  One  of  these  spurs 
will  be  seen  to  extend  beyond  the  lower  wire.  The 


The   Upright  System.  55 

spurs  should  be  kept  very  short,  and  they  should 
be  entirely  removed  every  two  or  three  years,  as 
explained  in  the  above  discussion  of  the  High  Re- 
newal training. 

The  shoots  are  allowed  to  take  their  natural 
course,  being  tied  to  any  wire  near  which  they 
chance  to  grow,  finally  lopping  over  the  top  wire. 
Sometimes  the  canes  are  bent  down  and  tied  hori- 
zontally to  the  wires,  and  this  is  probably  the  better 
practice.  Two  canes  may  be  tied  in  each  direction 
on  the  lower  wire,  or  the  two  inner  canes  may  be 
tied  down  to  the  second  wire.  In  either  case,  the 
vine  is  essentially  like  the  High  Renewal,  except 
that  the  trunk  is  shorter. 


X 

\ 


"\ 
X 


19.      FAN   TRAINING,   AFTER   PRUNING. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    DROOPING    SYSTEMS. 

In  1845  William  T.  Cornell  planted  a  vineyard 
in  the  Hudson  River  Valley.  A  neighbor,  William 
Kniffin,  was  a  stone  mason  with  a  few  acres  of  land 
to  which  he  devoted  his  attention  during  the  leisure 
seasons  of  his  trade.  Cornell  induced  Kniffin  to 
plant  a  few  grapes.  He  planted  the  Isabella,  and 
succeeding  beyond  his  expectations,  the  plantation 
was  increased  into  a  respectable  vineyard  and 
Kniffin  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  local  authority 
upon  grape  culture.  Those  were  the  pioneer  days 
in  commercial  grape  growing  in  North  America, 
and  there  \vere  no  undisputed  maxims  of  cultivation 
and  training.  If  any  system  of  close  training  and 
pruning  was  employed,  it  was  probably  the  old  hori- 
zontal arm  spur  system,  or  something  like  it.  One 
day  a  large  limb  broke  from  an  apple-tree  and  fell 
upon  a  grape-vine,  tearing  off  some  of  the  canes 
and  crushing  the  vine  into  a  singular  shape.  The 
vine  was  thought  to  be  ruined,  but  ii  was  left  until 
the  fruit  could  be  gathered.  But  as  the  fruit  ma- 
tured, its  large  size  and  handsome  appearance  at- 
tracted attention.  It  was  the  best  fruit  in  the  vine- 
yard !  Mr.  Kniffin  was  an  observant  man,  and  he 

(56) 


The  Drooping  System.  57 

inquired  into  the  cause  of  the  excellent  fruit.  He 
noticed  that  the  vine  had  been  pruned  and  that  the 
best  canes  stood  out  horizontally.  From  this  sug- 
gestion he  developed  the  four-cane  system  of  train- 
ing which  now  bears  his  name.  A  year  or  two  later, 
in  1854,  the  system  had  attracted  the  attention  of 
those  of  his  neighbors  who  cultivated  grapes,  and 


20.     WILLIAM  KNIFFIN. 

thereafter  it  spread  throughout  the  Hudson  valley, 
where  it  is  to-day,  with  various  modifications, 
the  chief  method  of  grape  training.  Its  merits 
have  become  known  beyond  its  original  valley,  and 
it  is  now  spreading  more  rapidly  than  any  other 
system.  The  ground  upon  which  the  old  Isabellas 


5^  American   Grape   Training. 

grew  is  now  occupied  by  Concords,  which  are  as 
vigorous  and  productive  as  those  grown  upon  newer 
soils.  William  Kniffin  died  at  his  home  hi  Clinton- 
dale,  Ulster  county,  New  York,  June  13,  1876,  at 
fifty-seven  years  of  age.  The  portrait  is  from  a 
photograph  which  was  taken  two  or  three  years 
before  his  death. 

The  True  or  Four- Cane  Kniffin  System. — Figure  21 
shows  the  true  Kniffin  system,  very  nearly  as 
practiced  by  its  originator.  A  single  stem  or  trunk 
is  carried  directly  to  the  top  wire,  and  t\vo  canes  are 
taken  out  from  side  spurs  at  each  wire.  Mr. 
Kniffin  believed  in  short  canes,  and  cut  them 
back  to  about  six  buds  on  both  wires.  But  most 
growers  now  prefer  to  leave  the  upper  canes 
longer  than  the  lower  ones,  as  seen  in  illustration. 
The  bearing  shoots  are  allowed  to  hang  at  will, 
os  that  no  summer  tying  is  necessary ;  this  is  the 
distinguishing  mark  of  the  various  Kniffin  systems. 
The  main  trunk  is  tied  to  each  wire,  and  the  canes 
are  tied  to  the  wires  in  spring.  This  system  pos- 
sesses the  great  advantage,  therefore,  of  requiring 
little  labor  during  the  busy  days  of  the  growing 
season  ;  and  the  vines  are  easily  cultivated,  and  if 
the  rows  are  nine  or  ten  feet  apart,  currants  or 
other  bush-fruits  can  be  grown  between.  The  sys- 
tem is  especially  adapted  to  the  strong  varieties  of 
grapes.  For  further  comparisons  of  the  merits  of 
different  systems  of  training,  the  reader  should  con- 
sult Chapter  II. 


6o 


American    Grape   Training. 


The  pruning  of  the  Kniffin  vine  consists  in 
cutting  off  all  the  wood  save  a  single  cane  from 
each  spur.  Fig.  22 
illustrates  the  pro- 
cess. T  h  i  s  i  s  the 
same  vine  which  is 
shown  with  the  full 
amount  of  wood  on 
in  fig.  2  i.  The 
droop  ing  shoots 
shown  in  that  illus- 
tration  bore  the 
grapes  of  1892  ;  and 
now,  in  the  winter  of 
1892-93,  they  are  all 
to  be  cut  away,  with 
the  horizontal  old 
canes  from  w  h  i  c  h 
they  grew,  save  only 
the  four  canes  which 
hang  nearest  the  main 
trunk.  Fig.  2 2  shows 
the  vine  after  it  had 
been  pruned.  It  is 
not  obligatory  that 
the  canes  which  are 

left  after  the  pruning  22.   N0.  2I  WHEN  PRUNHD. 

should  be  those  nearest  the  trunk,  for  it  may  happen 
that  these  may  be  weak  ;  but,  other  things  being 
equal,  these  canes  are  preferable  because  their 


The  Drooping  System.  61 

selection  keeps  the  old  spurs  short.  The  careful 
grower  will  take  pains  to  remove  the  weak  shoots 
which  start  from  this  point,  in  order  that  a  strong 
cane  may  be  obtained.  It  is  desirable  that  these 
side  spurs  be  removed  entirely  every  three  or  four 
years,  a  new  cane  being  brought  out  again  from  the 
main  body  or  trunk.  There  is  little  expectation, 
however,  that  there  shall  be  such  a  complete  re- 
newal pruning  as  that  practiced  in  the  High  Re- 
newal, which  we  discussed  in  the  last  chapter. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  drooping  canes  in  fig. 22 
are  shorter  than  they  were  originally,  as  shown 
in  fig.  21.  They  have  been  cut  back.  The  length 
at  which  these  canes  shall  be  left  is  a  moot  point. 
Much  depends  upon  the  variety,  the  distance  be- 
tween the  wires,  the  strength  of  the  soil,  and  other 
factors.  Nearly  all  growers  now  agree  that  the 
upper  canes  should  be  longer  than  the  lower  ones, 
although  equal  canes  are  still  used  in  some  places. 
In  strong  varieties,  like  Worden,  each  of  the  upper 
canes  may  bear  ten  buds  and  each  of  the  lower 
ones  five.  This  gives  thirty  buds  to  the  vine. 
Some  growers  prefer  to  leave  twelve  buds  above  and 
only  four  below. 

These  four  pruned  canes  are  generally  allowed  to 
hang  during  winter,  but  are  tied  onto  the  wires  before 
the  buds  swell  in  spring.  They  are  stretched  out 
horizontally  and  secured  to  the  wire  by  one  or  two 
ties  upon  each  cane.  The  shoots  which  spring 
from  these  horizontal  canes  stand  upright  or 


62  American    Grape    Training, 

oblique  at  first  but  they  soon  fall  over  with  the 
weight  of  foliage  and  fruit.  If  they  touch  the 
ground,  the  ends  may  be  clipped  off  with  a  sickle, 
corn-cutter  or  scythe,  although  this  is  not  always 
done,  and  is  not  necessary  unless  the  canes  inter- 
fere with  cultivation.  There  is  no  summer-pinch- 
ing nor  pruning,  although  the  superfluous  shoots 
should  be  broken  out,  as  in  other  systems.  (See 
page  23). 

Only  two  wires  are  used  in  the  true  Knimn  trellis. 
The  end  posts  are  usually  set  in  holes,  rather  than 
driven,  to  render  them  solid,  and  they  should  always 
be  well  braced.  The  intermedjate  posts  are  driven, 
and  they  usually  stand  between  every  alternate  vine, 
or  twenty  feet  apart  if  the  vines  are  ten  feet  apart—- 
which is  a  common  distance  for  the  most  vigor- 
ous varieties.  For  the  strong-growing  varieties, 
the  top  wire  is  placed  from  five  and  one-half  to  six 
feet  above  the  ground.  Five  feet  nine  inches  is  a 
popular  height.  The  posts  will  heave  sufficiently  to 
bring  the  height  to  six  feet,  although  it  is  best  to 
' '  tap ' '  the  posts  every  spring  with  a  maul  in  order  to 
drive  them  back  and  make  them  firm.  The  lower 
wire  is  usually  placed  at  three  and  one-half  feet. 
Delawares,  if  trained  Kniffin,  should  not  stand 
above  five  feet  four  inches,  or  at  most  five  feet  six 
inches.  Strong  vines  on  good  soil  are  often  put  onto 
the  trellis  the  second  year,  although  it  is  a  commoner 
practice,  perhaps,  to  stake  them  the  second  season, 
as  already  explained  (page  27),  and  put  them 


The  Drooping  System. 


on  the  wires  the  third  season.  The  year  following 
the  tying  to  the  trellis,,  the  vine  should  bear  a 
partial  crop.  The  vine  is  usually  carried  directly  to 
the  top  wire  the  first  season  of  training,  although 
it  is  the  practice  of  some  growers,  especially  out- 
side the  Hudson  valley,  to  stop  the  trunk  at  the 
lower  wire  the  first  year  of  permanent  training,  and 
to  carry  it  to  the  top  wire  the  following  year. 

Yields  from  good  Kniffin  vines  will  average  fully 
as  high  and  perhaps  higher  than  from  other  species 
of  training.  W.  D.  Barns,  of  Orange  county,  New 
York,  has  had  an  annual  average  of  twenty-six 
pounds  of  Concords  to  the  vine  for  nine  years,  1,550 
vines  being  considered  in  the  calculation.  While 
the  Delaware  is  not  so  well  suited  to  the  Kniffin 
system  as  stronger  varieties,  it  can  nevertheless  be 
trained  in  this  manner  with  success,  as  the  follow- 
ing average  yields  obtained  by  Mr.  Barns  from  200 
vines  set  in  1881  will  show  : 

1886 8%  pounds  to  the  vine. 

1887 i\y± 

1888  .    ,  8 


1890.    . 

1891  .    . 

1892  .    . 


Modifications  of  the  Four-  Cane  Kniffin.  —  Various 
modifications  of  this  original  four-cane  Kniffin  are 
in  use.  The  Kniffin  idea  is  often  carelessly  ap- 
plied to  a  rack  trellis.  In  such  cases,  several 
canes  were  allowed  to  grow  where  only  two  should 
have  been  left.  Fig.  23  is  a  common  but  poor  style 


The  Drooping  System.  65 

of  Kniffin  used  in  some  of  the  large  new  vineyards 
of  western  New  York.  It  differs  from  the  type  in 
the  training  of  the  young  wood.  These  shoots, 
instead  of  being  allowed  to  hang  at  will,  are  carried 
out  horizontally  and  either  tied  to  the  wire  or 


r 


twisted  around  it.  The  advantage  urged  for  this 
modification  is  the  little  injury  done  by  wind,  but, 
as  a  matter  of  practice,  it  affords  less  protection 
than  the  true  drooping  Kniffin,  for  in  the  latter  the 


66  American    Grape    Training. 

shoots  from  the  upper  cane  soon  cling  to  the  lower 
wire,  and  the  shoots  from  both  tiers  of  canes  pro- 
tect each  other  below  the  lower  wire.  There  are 
three  serious  disadvantages  to  this  holding  up  of 
the  shoots, — it  makes  unnecessary  labor,  the  canes 
are  likely  to  make  wood  or  "bull  canes"  (see 
page  50)  at  the  expense  of  fruit,  and  the  fruit  is 
bunched  together  on  the  vines. 

•  Another  common  modification  of  the  four-cane 
Kniffin  is  that  shown  in  fig.  24,  in  which  a  crotch  or  Y 
is  made  in  the  trunk.  This  crotch  is  used  in  the  belief 
that  the  necessary  sap  supply  is  thereby  more  readily 
deflected  into  the  lower  arms  than  by  the  system 
of  side  spurring  on  a  straight  or  continuous  trunk. 
This  is  probably  a  fallacy,  and  may  have  arisen 
from  the  attempt  to  grow  as  heavy  canes  on  the 
lower  wire  as  on  the  upper  one.  Nevertheless,  this 
modification  is  in  common  use  in  western  New 
York  and  elsewhere. 

If  it  is  desired  to  leave  an  equal  number  of  buds 
on  both  wires,  the  Double  Kniffin  will  probably  be 
found  most  satisfactory.  Two  distinct  trunks  are 
brought  from  the  root,  each  supplying  a  single  wire 
only.  The  trunks  are  tied  together  to  hold  them  in 
place.  This  system,  under  the  name  of  Improved 
Kniffin,  is  just  coming  into  notice  in  restricted  por- 
tions of  the  Hudson  valley. 

The  Two- Cane  Kniffin,  or  Umbrella  System. — In- 
asmuch as  the  greater  part  of  the  fruit  in  the  Four- 
Cane  Kniffin  is  born  upon  the  upper  wire,  the  ques- 


The  Drooping  System. 


67 


tion  arises  if  it  would  not  be  better  to  dispense  with 
the  lower  canes  and  cut  the  upper  ones  longer. 
This  is  now  done  to  a  considerable  extent,  especi- 
ally in  the  Hudson  valley.  Fig.  25  explains  the 
operation.  This  shows  a  pruned  vine.  The  trunk 
is  tied  to  the  lower  wire  to  steady  it,  and  two  canes, 
each  bearing  from  nine  to  fifteen  buds,  are  left  upon 
the  upper  wire.  These  canes  are  tied  to  the  upper 
wire  and  they  are  then  bent  down,  hoop-like,  to  the 


UMBRELLA   TRAINING. 


lower  wire,  where  the  ends  are  tied.  In  some  in- 
stances, the  lower  wire  is  dispensed  with,  but  this 
is  not  advisable.  This  wire  holds  the  vine  in  place 
against  the  winds  and  prevents  the  too  violent 
whipping  of  the  hanging  shoots.  During  the  grow- 
ing season,  renewal  canes  are  taken  from  the  spurs 
in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  in  the  ordinary  Knif- 
fin.  This  species  of  training  reduces  the  amount  of 
leaf-surface  to  a  minimum,  and  every  precaution 
must  be  taken  to  insure  a  healthy  leaf-growth.  This 


The  Drooping  System.  69 

system  of  training  will  probably  not  allow  of  the 
successful  girdling  of  the  vine  for  the  purpose  of 
hastening  the  maturity  and  augmenting  the  size  of 
the  fruit.  Yet  heavy  crops  can  be  obtained  from 
it,  if  liberal  fertilizing  and  good  cultivation  are  em- 
ployed, and  the  fruit  is  nearly  always  first-class.  A 
Concord  vine  trained  in  this  manner  produced  in 
1892  eighty  clusters  of  first  quality  grapes,  weigh- 
ing forty  pounds. 

Another  type  of  Umbrella  training  is  shown  in 
fig.  26,  before  pruning.  Here  five  main  canes  were 
allowed  to  grow,  instead  of  two.  Except  in  very 
strong  vines,  this  top  is  too  heavy,  and  it  is  probably 
never  so  good  as  the  other  (fig.  25),  if  the  highest 
results  are  desired  ;  but  for  the  grower  who  does 
not  care  to  insure  high  cultivation  it  is  probably  a 
safer  system  than  the  other. 

The  Low,  or  One-Wire  Kniffin. — A  modification 
of  this  Umbrella  system  is  sometimes  used,  in  which 
the  trellis  is  only  three  or  four  feet  high  and  com- 
prises but  a  single  wire.  A  cane  of  ten  or  a  dozen 
buds  is  tied  out  in  each  direction,  and  the  shoots  are 
allowed  to  hang  in  essentially  the  same  manner  as 
in  the  True  or  High  Kniffin  system.  The  advan- 
tages urged  for  this  system  are  the  protection  of  the 
grapes  from  wind,  the  large  size  of  the  fruit  due  to 
the  small  amount  of  bearing  wood,  the  ease  of  lay- 
ing down  the  vines,  the  readiness  with  which  the 
top  can  be  renewed  from  the  root  as  occasion  de- 
mands, and  the  cheapness  of  the  trellis. 


70  American   Grape    Training. 

The  Six- Cane  Kniffin. — There  are  many  old  vine- 
yards in  eastern  New  York  which  are  trained  upon 
a  six-cane  or  three-wire  system.  The  general  prun- 
ning  and  management  of  these  vines  do  not  differ 
from  that  of  the  common  Kniffin.  Very  strong  va- 
rieties which  can  carry  an  abundance  of  wood, 
may  be  profitable  upon  this  style  of  training,  but 
it  cannot  be  recommended.  A  Concord  vineyard 
over  thirty  years  old,  comprising  295  vines,  trained 
in  this  fashion,  is  still  thrifty  and  productive. 
Twice  it  has  produced  crops  of  six  tons. 

Eight-Cane  Kniffin. — Eight  and  even  ten  canes 
are  sometimes  left  upon  a  single  trunk,  and  are 
trained  out  horizontally  or  somewhat  obliquely,  as 


27.    EIGHT-CANK  KNIFFIN.    (Diagram.) 


shown  in  the  accompanying  diagram  (fig.  27). 
Unless  these  canes  are  cut  back  to  four  or  five  buds 
each,  the  vine  carries  too  much  wood  and  fruit. 


28.      OVERHEAD   KNIFFIN. 


72  American    Grape    Training. 

This  system  allows  of  close  planting,  but  the  trellis 
is  too  expensive.  The  trunk  soon  becomes  over- 
growTn  with  spurs,  and  it  is  likely  to  become  prema- 
turely weak.  This  style  is  very  rarely  used. 

Overhead,  or  Arbor  Kniffin. — A  curious  modifica- 
tion of  the  Kniffin  is  employed  somewhat  on  the 
Hudson,  particularly  by  Sands  Haviland  at  Marl- 
boro'. The  vines  are  carried  up  on  a  kind  of  over- 


29.      OVERHEAD   KX1FFIN. 

head  arbor,  as  shown  in  figs.  28,  29  and  30.  The 
trellis  is  six  feet  above  the  ground,  and  is  composed 
of  three  horizontal  wires  lying  in  the  same  plane. 
The  central  wire  runs  from  post  to  post,  and  one 
upon  either  side  is  attached  to  the  end  of  a  three- 
foot  cross-bar,  as  represented  in  fig.  28.  The  rows 
are  nine  feet  apart,  and  the  vines  and  posts  twelve 
feet  apart  in  the  row.  Contiguous  rows  are  braced 
by  a  connecting-pole,  as  in  fig.  29.  The  trunk  of 


74  American   Grape   Training. 

the  vins  ends  in  a  T-shaped  head,  which  is  well 
displayed  in  the  vine  at  the  extreme  right  in  the 
foreground  in  fig.  30.  From  this  T-head,  five  canes 
are  carried  out  from  spurs.  It  was  formerly  the 
practice  to  carry  out  six  canes,  one  in  each  direc- 
tion upon  each  wire,  but  this  was  found  to  supply 
too  much  wood.  Now  two  canes  are  carried  in  one 
direction  and  three  in  the  other  ;  and  the  positions 
of  these  sets  are  alternated  each  year,  if  possible. 
The  canes  which  are  left  after  the  winter  pruning 
are  tied  along  the  wires  in  spring,  as  in  the  Kniffin, 
and  the  shoots  hang  over  the  wires.  The  chief 
advantage  of  this  training  is  that  it  allows  of  the 
growing  of  bush-fruits  between  the  rows,  as  seen  in 
fig.  29.  It  is  also  said  that  the  clusters  hang  so 
free  that  the  bloom  is  not  injured  by  the  twigs  or 
leaves,  and  the  fruit  is  protected  from  sun  and  frost. 
Every  post  must  be  large  and  firmly  set,  however, 
adding  much  to  the  cost  of  the  trellis.  Several 
styles  similar  to  this  are  in  use,  one  of  the  best  be- 
ing the  Crittenden  system,  of  Michigan.  In  this 
system,  the  trellis  is  low,  not  exceeding  four  or  five 
feet,  and  the  vines  cover  a  flat-topped  platform  two 
or  three  feet  wide. 

The  Cross- Wire  System. — Another  high  Kniffin 
training,  and  which  is  also  confined  to  the  vicinity 
of  Marlboro',  New  York,  is  the  Cross-Wire,  repre- 
sented in  figs.  31  and  32.  Small  posts  are  set  eight 
fest  apart  each  way,  and  a  single  wire  runs  from  the 
top  of  post  to  post — six  and  one-half  feet  from  the 


The  Drooping  System. 


75 


ground — in  each  direction,  forming  a  check-row 
system  of  overhead  wires.  The  grape-vine  is  set  at 
the  foot  of  the  stake,  to  which  the  trunk  is  tied  for 
support.  Four  canes  are  taken  from  spurs  on  the 
head  of  the  trunk,  one  for  each  of  the  radiating 
wires.  These  canes  are  cut  to  three  and  one-half  or 
four  feet  in  length,  and  the  bearing  shoots  droop  as 


31.     CROSS-WIRE  TRAINING. 

they  grow.  Fig.  31  shows  this  training  as  it  appears 
some  time  after  the  leaves  start  in  spring.  Later  in 
the  season  the  whole  vineyard  becomes  a  great  arbor, 
and  a  person  standing  at  a  distance  sees  an  almost 
impenetrable  mass  of  herbage,  as  in  fig.  32.  This 
system  appears  to  have  little  merit,  and  will  always 
remain  local  in  application.  It  possesses  the  ad- 
vantage of  economy  in  construction  of  the  trellis, 
for  very  slender  posts  are  used,  even  at  the  ends  of 


The  Drooping  System.  77 

the  rows.  The  end  posts  are  either  braced  by  a 
pole  or  anchored  by  a  wire  taken  from  the  top  and 
secured  to  a  stake  or  stone  eight  or  ten  feet  be- 
yond, outside  the  vineyard. 

Renewal  Kniffin. — It  is  an  easy  matter  to  adapt 
the  Kniffin  principle  of  free  hanging  shoots  to  a 
true  renewal  method  of  pruning.  There  are  a  few 
modifications  in  use  in  which  the  wood  is  annually 
renewed  to  near  the  ground.  The  trellises  com- 
prise either  two  or  three  wires,  and  are  made  in  the 
same  manner  as  for  the  upright  systems,  as  the 
High  Renewal.  At  the  annual  pruning  only  one 
cane  is  left.  This  comprises  twelve  or  fifteen  buds, 
and  is  tied  up  diagonally  across  the  trellis,  the  point 
or  end  of  the  cane  usually  being  bent  downward 
somewhat,  in  order  to  check  the  strong  growth  from 
the  uppermost  parts.  The  shoots  hang  from  this 
cane,  and  they  may  be  pinched  back  when  they 
reach  the  ground.  In  the  meantime  a  strong  shoot 
is  taken  out  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  head — 
which  usually  stands  a  foot  or  less  from  the  ground — 
to  make  the  bearing  wood  of  the  next  year  ;  and  this 
new  cane  will  be  tied  in  an  opposite  direction  on  the 
trellis  from  the  present  bearing  cane,  and  the  next 
renewal  shoot  will  be  taken  from  the  other  side  of 
the  head,  or  the  side  from  which  the  present  bear- 
ing wood  sprung  ;  so  that  the  bearing  top  of  the  vine 
is  alternated  in  either  direction  upon  the  trellis. 
This  system,  and  similar  ones,  allow  of  laying  down 
the  vines  easily  in  winter,  and  insure  excellent  fruit 


American    Grape   Training. 


because  the  amount  of  bearing  wood  is  small  ;  but 
the  crop  is  not  large  enough  to  satisfy  most  de- 
mands. 

The  Munson  System.  — An  unique  system  of  train- 
ing, upon  the  Kniffin  principle,  has  been  devised  by 
T.  V.  Munson,  of  Denison, 
Texas,  a  well-known  au- 
thority upon  grapes.  Two 
posts  are  set  in  the  same 
hole,  their  tops  diverging. 
A  wire  is  stretched  along  the 
top  of  these  posts  and  a  third 
one  is  hung  between  them 
on  cross-wires.  The  trunk 
of  the  vine,  or  its  head,  is 
secured  to  this  middle  lower 
wire  and  the  shoots  lop  over 
the  side  wires.  The  growth, 
therefore,  makes  a  V-shaped 
or  trough-like  mass  of  herb- 
age. Fig.  33  is  an  end  view 
of  this  trellis,  showing  the 
short  wire  connecting  the 
posts  and  which  also  holds  the 
middle  trellis-wire  at  the  point  of  the  V.  Fig.  34  is  a 
side  view  of  the  trellis.  The  bearing  canes,  two  or 
four,  in  number,  which  are  left  after  the  annual  prun- 
ing, are  tied  along  this  middle  wire.  The  main  trunk 
forks  just  under  the  middle  wire,  as  seen  at  the  left 
in  fig.  34.  A  head  is  formed  at  this  place  not  unlike 


33- 


MUNSON  TRAINING. 
END   VIEW. 


8o  Ajnerican   Grape   Training. 

like  that  which  characterizes  the  High  Renewal,  for 
this  system  also  employs  renewal  pruning.  The 
trellis  stands  six  feet  high.  The  shoots  stand  up- 
right at  first,  but  soon  fall  down  and  are  supported  by 
the  side  wires.  The  following  account  of  this  system 
of  training  is  written  for  this  occasion  by  Mr.  Munson  : 

"After  the  vines  have  flowered,  the  bearing 
laterals  have  their  tips  pinched  off,  and  that  is  all 
the  summer  pruning  the  vine  gets,  except  to  rub  off 
all  eyes  that  start  on  the  body  below  the  crotch. 
Two  to  four  shoots,  according  to  strength  of  vine, 
are  started  from  the  forks  or  crotch  and  allowed  to 
bear  no  fruit,  but  are  trained  along  over  the  lower  cen- 
tral wire  for  renewal  canes.  When  pruning  time  ar- 
rives, the  entire  bearing  cane  of  the  present  year,  with 
all  its  laterals,  is  cut  away  at  a  point  near  where  the 
young  renewal  shoots  have  started,  and  these  shoots 
are  shortened  back,  according  to  strength  of  vine ; 
some,  such  as  Herbemont,  being  able  at  four  years 
to  fill  four  shoots  six  or  eight  feet  long  with  fine 
fruit,  while  Delaware  could  not  well  carry  over  three 
or  four  feet  each  way  of  one  shoot  only.  The 
different  varieties  are  set  at  various  distances  apart, 
according  as  they  are  strong  or  weak  growers,. 

"  Thus  the  trellis  and  system  of  pruning  are  re- 
duced to  the  simplest  form.  A  few  cuts  to  each 
vine  cover  all  the  pruning,  and  a  few  ties  complete 
the  task.  A  novice  can  soon  learn  to  do  the  work 
well.  The  trunk  or  main  stem  is  secured  to  the 
middle  lower  wire,  along  which  all  bearing  canes 


The  Drooping  System.  81 

are  tied  after  pruning,  and  from  which  the  young 
laterals  which  produce  the  crop  are  to  spring. 
These  laterals  strike  the  two  outer  wires,  soon 
clinging  to  them  with  their  tendrils,  and  are  safe 
from  destruction,  while  the  fruit  is  thrown  in  the 
best  possible  position  for  spraying  and  gathering, 
and  is  still  shaded  with  the  canopy  of  leaves.  I 
have  now  used  this  trellis  five  years  upon  ten  acres 
of  mixed  vines,  and  I  am  more  pleased  with  it  every 
year. 

"The  following  advantages  ars  secured  by  this 
system  : 

"i.  The  natural  habit  of  the  vine  is  maintained, 
which  is  a  canopy  to  shade  the  roots  and  body  of 
vine  and  the  fruit,  without  smothering. 

"  2.  New  wood,  formed  by  sap  which  has  never 
passed  through  bearing  wood,  is  secured  for  the 
next  crop — a  very  important  matter. 

"3.  Simplicity  and  convenience  of  trellis, 
allowing  free  passage  in  any  direction  through  the 
vineyard  ;  circulation  of  air  without  danger  of  break- 
ing tender  shoots  ;  ease  of  pruning,  spraying,  cul- 
tivation, harvesting. 

"4.  Perfect  control  in  pruning  of  amount  of  crop 
to  suit  capacity  of  vine. 

"5.  Long  canes  for  bearing,  which  agrees  ex- 
actly with  the  nature  of  nearly  all  our  American 
species  far  better  than  short  spurs. 

"6.    Ease  of  laying  down  in    winter.     The  vine 


82 


American    Grape    Training. 


being  pruned  and  not  tied,  standing  away  from 
posts,  can  be  bent  down  to  one  side  between  the 
rows,  and  earth  thrown  upon  it,  and  can  be  quickly 
raised  and  tied  in  position. 

'•7.  Cheapness  of  construction  and  ease  of  re- 
moving trellis  material  and  using  it  again. 

"8.    Durability  of  both  trellis  and  vineyard." 


CHAPTE.R  V. 

MISCELLANEOUS    SYSTEMS. 

Horizontal  Training. — There  are  very  few  types 
of  horizontal  shoot  training  now  in  use.  The  best 
is  probably  that  shown  in  fig.  35.  This  particular 


35.    HORIZONTAL    TRAINING. 

vine  is  a  Delaware,    to   which   this  training  is  well 
adapted.      It  will  be  noticed  that  this   picture   rep- 

(83) 


84  American   Grape   Training. 

resents  the  end  of  a  trellis,  and  the  diagonal  stick 
seen  near  the  ground  is  a  brace  for  the  end  post. 
Two  wires  run  from  post  to  post,  one  about  two 
and  one-half  feet  above  the  ground  and  the  other 
five  and  one-half  feet  high.  The  posts  are  set  at 
the  ordinary  distance  of  16  or  18  feet  apart.  The 
vines  are  set  six  or  eight  feet  apart,  if  Delawares. 
A  strong  stake  is  driven  in  the  ground  behind  each 
vine,  standing  as  high  as  the  top  of  the  trellis, 
when  set.  The  permanent  trunk  or  head  of  the 
vine  stands  about  a  foot  high.  The  vine  is  re- 
newed back  to  the  top  of  this  trunk  every  year. 
One  cane  is  left  at  each  pruning,  which,  when  tied 
up  to  the  stake,  is  as  high  as  the  trellis.  From 
this  perpendicular  cane,  the  bearing  shoots  are  car- 
ried out  horizontally.  About  six  of  these  shoots  are 
allowed  to  grow  upon  either  side  of  the  cane.  As 
the  shoots  grow,  they  are  tied  to  perpendicular 
slats  which  are  fastened  on  the  wires.  These  slats 
do  not  touch  the  ground.  Two  slats  are  provided 
upcn  either  side,  making  four  to  a  vine.  They  stand 
a  foot  or  fifteen  inches  apart.  The  clusters  hang 
free  from  the  horizontal  shoots.  If  the  shoots 
grow  too  long,  they  are  pinched  in  when  they  have 
passed  the  second  slat.  While  these  shoots  are 
covering  the  trellis,  another  shoot  is  taken  out 
from  the  head  or  trunk  of  the  vine  and,  without 
being  allowed  to  fruit,  is  tied  up  along  the  central 
stake.  This  shoot  is  to  form  the  top  next  year, 
for  all  the  present  vine  is  to  be  entirely  cut  away 


Miscellaneous  Systems.  85 

at  the  winter's  pruning.  So  the  vine  starts  every 
spring  with  but  a  single  cane. 

Excellent  results  are  obtained  from  the  slender 
growing  varieties  by  this  method  of  training,  but 
it  is  too  expensive  in  trellis  and  in  labor  of  tying  to 
make  it  generally  practicable.  Delaware,  however, 
thrives  remarkably  well  when  trained  in  this 
fashion. 

Post  Training. — There  are  various  methods  of 
training  to  posts,  all  of  which  possess  two  advan- 
tages— the  saving  of  the  expense  of  trellis  and  al- 
lowing of  cultivation  both  ways.  But  they  also 
have  grave  disadvantages,  especially  in  the  thick- 
ness of  the  head  of  foliage  which  harbors  rot  and 
mildew  and  prevents  successful  spraying,  and 
hinders  the  fruit  from  coloring  and  ripening  well. 
These  faults  are  so  serious  that  post  training  is 
now  little  used  for  the  American  grapes.  The 
saving  in  cost  of  trellis  is  not  great,  for  more  posts 
are  required  to  the  acre  than  in  the  trellis  systems, 
and  they  do  not  endure  long  when  standing 
alone  with  the  whole  weight  of  the  vines  thrown 
upon  them. 

There  are  various  methods  of  pruning  for  the 
stake  training,  but  nearly  all  of  them  agree  in 
pruning  to  side  spurs  upon  a  permanent  upright 
arm  which  stands  the  full  height  of  the  vine. 
There  may  be  one  or  two  sets  of  these  spurs.  We 
might  suppose  the  Kniffin  vine,  shown  in  fig.  22, 
to  be  tied  to  a  post  instead  of  stretched  on  a  trel- 


Tas    c  4^ 


Miscellaneous  Systems.  87 

lis  ;  in  that  event,  the  four  canes  would  hang  at 
will,  or  they  might  be  wrapped  about  the  post,  the 
shoots  hanging  out  unsupported  in  all  directions. 
The  post  systems  are  essentially  Kniffin  in  princi- 
ple, for  the  shoots  hang  free.  In  low  styles  of 
post  training,  the  permanent  head  of  the  vine  may 
be  only  three  or  four  feet  high.  This  head  will 
have  a  ring  of  spurs  011  it,  and  at  the  annual  prun- 
ing three  to  five  canes  with  from  six  to  ten  buds 
each  are  left.  Fig.  36  is  a  view  in  such  a  post 
vineyard. 

The  main  trunk  is  usually  tied  permanently  to 
the  post.  The  canes  left  after  pruning  are  va- 
riously disposed.  Sometimes  they  are  bent  up- 
wards and  tied  to  the  post  above  the  head  of  the 
vine,  but  they  are  oftenest  either  wound  loosely 
about  the  post,  or  are  allowed  to  hang  loose.  Two 
trunks  are  frequently  used  to  each  post,  both  com- 
ing from  the  ground  from  a  common  root.  These 
are  wound  about  the  post  in  opposite  directions, 
one  outside  the  other,  and  if  the  outside  one  is  se- 
cured at  the  top  by  a  small  nail  driven  through  it, 
or  by  a  cord,  no  other  tying  will  be  necessary. 
Sometimes  two  or  three  posts  are  set  at  distances 
of  one  foot  or  more  apart,  and  the  vines  are 
wrapped  about  them,  but  this  only  arguments  the 
size  and  depth  of  the  mass  of  foliage.  Now  and 
then  one  sees  a  careful  post  training,  in  which  but 
little  wood  is  left  and  vigorous  breaking  out  of 
shoots  practiced,  which  gives  excellent  results  ; 


88  American    Grape    Training. 

but  on  the  whole,  it  cannot  be  recommended.  The 
European  post  and  stake  systems  or  modifications 
of  them,  are  yet  occasionally  recommended  for 
American  vines,  but  under  general  conditions,  es- 
pecially in  commercial  grape  growing,  they  rarely 
succeed  long.  One  of  the  latest  recommendations 
'of  any  of  these  types  is  that  of  the  single  pole  sys- 
tem of  the  Upper  Rhine  Valley,  by  A.  F.  Hofer,  of 
Iowa,  in  a  little  treatise  published  in  1878. 

Arbors. — Arbors  and  bowers  are  usually  formed 
with  little  reference  to  pruning  and  training.  The 
first  object  is  to  secure  shade  and  seclusion,  and 
these  are  conditions  which-may  seriously  interfere 
with  the  production  of  fine  grapes.  As  a  rule,  too 
much  wood  must  be  allowed  to  grow,  and  the  soil 
about  arbors  is  rarely  ever  cultivated.  Still,  fair  re- 
sults in  fruit  can  be  obtained  if  the  operator  makes 
a  diligent  use  of  the  pruning  shears.  It  is  usually 
best  to  carry  one  main  or  permanent  trunk  up  to 
the  top  or  center  of  the  arbor.  Along  this  trunk 
at  intervals  of  two  feet  or  less,  spurs  may  be  left 
to  which  the  wood  is  renewed  each  year.  If  the 
vines  stand  six  feet  apart  about  the  arbor — which 
is  a  satisfactory  distance — one  cane  three  feet  long 
may  be  left  on  each  spur  when  the  pruning  is  done. 
The  shoots  which  spring  from  these  canes  will 
soon  cover  up  the  intermediate  spaces.  At  the 
close  of  the  season,  this  entire  cane  with  its  lat- 
erals is  cut  away  at  the  spur,  and  another  three- 
foot  cane — which  grew  during  the  season — is  left 


Miscellaneous  Systems.  89 

in  its  place.  This  pruning  is  essentially  that  of 
the  Kniffin  vine  in  fig.  22.  Imagine  this  vine, 
with  as  many  joints  or  tiers  as  necessary,  laid  upon 
the  arbor.  The  canes  are  tied  out  horizontally  to 
the  slats  instead  of  being  tied  on  wires.  This  same 
system — running  up  a  long  trunk  and  cutting  in  to 
side  spurs — will  apply  equally  well  to  tall  walls  and 
fences  which  it  is  desired  to  cover.  Undoubtedly 
a  better  plan,  so  far  as  yield  and  quality  of  fruit 
is  concerned,  is  to  renew  back  nearly  to  the  root, 
bringing  up  a  strong  new  cane,  or  perhaps  two  or 
three  every  year,  and  cutting  the  old  ones  off;  but 
as  the  vines  are  desired  for  shade  one  does  not 
care  to  wait  until  midsummer  for  the  vines  to  reach 
and  cover  the  top  of  the  arbor. 

Remodeling  Old  Vines. — Old  and  neglected  tops 
can  rarely  be  remodeled  to  advantage.  If  the  vine 
is  still  vigorous,  it  will  probably  pay  to  grow  an  en- 
tirely new  top  by  taking  out  a  cane  from  the  root. 
If  the  old  top  is  cut  back  severely  for  a  year  or 
two,  this  new  cane  will  make  a  vigorous  growth, 
and  it  can  be  treated  essentially  like  a  new  or 
young  vine.  If  it  is  very  strong  and  ripens  up 
well,  it  can  be  left  long  enough  the  first  fall  to 
make  the  permanent  trunk ;  but  if  it  is  rather 
weak  and  soft,  it  should  be  cut  back  in  the  fall  or 
winter  to  two  or  three  buds,  from  one  of  which  the 
permanent  trunk  is  to  be  grown  the  second  season. 
Thereafter,  the  instructions  which  are  given  in  the 
preceding  pages  for  the  various  systems,  will  apply 


9°  American    Grape    Training, 

to  the  new  vine.  Ths  old  trunk  should  be  cut 
away  as  soon  as  the  new  one  is  permanently  tied 
to  the  wires,  that  is,  at  the  close  of  either  the  first 
or  second  season  of  the  new  trunk.  Care  must  be 
exercised  to  rub  off  all  sprouts  which  spring  from 
the  old  root  or  stump.  If  this  stump  can  be  cut 
back  into  the  ground  and  covered  with  earth,  bet- 
ter results  may  be  expected.  Old  vines  treated  in 
this  manner  often  make  good  plants,  but  if  the 
vines  are  weak  and  the  soil  is  poor,  the  trouble 
will  scarcely  pay  for  itself. 

These  old  vines  can  be  remodeled  easily  by  means 
of  grafting.  Cut  off  the*  trunk  five  or  six  inches 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  leaving  an  inch  or 
two  of  straight  wood  above  the  roots.  Into  this 
stub  insert  two  cions  exactly  as  for  cleft-grafting 
the  apple.  Cions  of  two  or  three  buds,  of  firm 
wood  the  side  of  a  lead-pencil,  should  be  inserted. 
The  top  bud  should  stand  above  the  ground.  The 
cleft  will  need  no  tying  nor  wax,  although  it  is  well 
to  place  a  bit  of  waxed  cloth  or  other  material  over 
the  wound  to  keep  the  soil  out  of  it.  Fill  the  earth 
tightly  about  it.  Fig.  37  shows  the  first  year's 
growth  from  two  cions  of  Niagara  set  in  a  Red 
Wyoming  root.  Great  care  must  be  taken  in  any 
pruning  which  is  done  this  first  year,  or  the  cions 
may  be  loosened.  If  the  young  shoots  are  tied  to 
a  stake  there  will  be  less  danger  from  wind  and 
careless  workmen.  In  the  vine  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration, no  pruning  nor  rubbing  out  was  done, 


92  American    Grape    Training. 

but  the  vine  would  have  been  in  better  shape  for 
training  if  only  one  or  two  shoots  had  been  allowed 
to  grow.  Such  a  vine  as  this  can  be  carried  onto 
the  trellis  next  year  ;  or  it  may  be  cut  back  to  three 
or  four  buds,  one  of  which  is  allowed  to  make  the 
permanent  trunk  next  year,  like  a  two-year  set  vine. 
If  it  is  desired,  however,  to  keep  the  old  top,  it  will 
be  best  to  cut  back  the  annual  growth  heavily  at  the 
winter  pruning.  The  amount  of  wood  which  shall 
be  left  must  be  determined  by  the  vigor  of  the  plant 
and  the  variety,  but  three  or  four  canes  of  six  to  ten 
buds  each  may  be  left  at  suitable  places.  During 
the  next  season  a  strong  shoot  from  the  base  of 
each  cane  may  be  allowed  to  grow,  which  shall  form 
the  wood  of  the  following  season,  while  all  the 
present  cane  is  cut  away  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
So  the  bearing  wood  is  renewed  each  year,  as  in  the 
regular  systems  of  training.  Much  skill  and  ex- 
perience are  often  required  to  properly  rejuvenate 
an  old  vine ;  and  in  very  many  cases  the  vine  is  not 
v/orth  the  trouble. 


Page 

Adlum,  quoted 10 

Arbor  Kniffin 72 

Arbors 88 

Arm,  defined 13 

Barns,  W.  D.,  quoted 6-, 

Bass  bark      33 

Bleeding  .    .    .  , 22 

Breaking-out * 23 

Brocton,  Training  at 37 

Bull  cane 50,  66 

Cane,  defined 13 

Chautauqua  County,  Training  in 37 

Contraction  of  wires 30 

Cornell,  William  T .   .  56 

Cornhusks,  for  tying 33 

Crittenden  training 74 

Cross-wire  training      74 

Crotch  Kniffin  * 66 

Double  Kniffin 66 

Drooping  systems 56 

Eight-cane  Kniffin 70 

Fan  training 54 

Forestville,  Training  at 37 

Four-cane  Kniffin 58 

Fuller,  quoted 10,  34 

Girdling 69 

Grafting 90 

Haviland,  Sands 72 

Heading-in      23 

High  Renewal  training 39 

Hofer,  A.  F 88 

Horizontal  Arm  training 34 

Horizontal  training 83 

Husks,  for  tying 33 

(93) 


94  Index. 

Page 
Improved  Kniffin      66 

Kniffin  systems 58 

Kniffin  training,  Comparison  of 26 

Kniffin,  William 56 

Low  Kniffin .   .  .   . 69 

Marlboro',  Training  at ~2,  74 

Modified  Kniffin 63 

Munson  training . 78 

Munson,  T.  V 78 

Objects  of  pruning 24 

Old  vines,  Remodeling  of 89 

One-wire  Kniffin       69 

Overhead  Kniffin     .    .       .   .  f 72 

Planting .   .       20 

Posts 28 

Post  training 85 

Pruning n 

Pruning,  Objects  of 24 

"        of  young  vines 20 

"        Summer 23 

"        Time  for 22 

Raffia 32 

Raphia  Ruffia 32 

Reasons  for  pruning 24 

Remodeling  old  vines 89 

Renewal,  defined 18 

Renewal  Kniffin 77 

Rubbing  off 14,  23 

Rye  straw  for  tying     33 

Sagging  of  wires 30 

Setting 20 

Shoot,  defined 13 

Six-cane  Kniffin 70 

Spur,  defined     .    . 17 

Spur  training     34 

Staples .    .  29 

Stopping 23 

Stripping 22 

Summer  pruning ...       23 

Superfluous  shoots 23 


Index.  95 

Page 

Systems  compared 25 

T-head •   .    .  41 

Thomas'  Fruit  Culturist,  quoted 10 

Tightening  wires •    .  31 

Trellis,  Making 27 

True  Kniffm 58 

Twine  for  tying 32 

Two-cane  Kniffin 66 

Tying 31 

Umbrella  training 66 

Upright  training 34 

Walls,  Training  on 89 

Weeping 22 

Willows,  for  tying 32 

Wire,  for  trellis 28 

"     for  tying 33 

"     weights  and  sizes 29 

Wool-twine     32 

Y-trunk  Kniffin      66 

Yeoman's  patent  trellis     30 

Yields  of  grapes 14,  63,  69,  70 

Young  vines,  Pruning  of 20 


THIS  ILLUSTRATION  was  made  from  a  photograph  of  fair  samples  of  the  different  gr; 
of  our  grape  vines,  reduced  to  one  tenth  their  natural  size. 

We  take  great  pride  and  confident  in  our  ability  to  furnish  strong,  fibrous  rooted  stock 
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LEWIS  ROESCH,  FREDONIA,  N.  Y-, 

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When  writing  name  this  book.* 


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We  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  planters  to  our 
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pOPULAR    ERRORS   ABOUT  PLANTS.— By  A.  A.  CROZIER.    A  col- 
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THE  NURSERY  BOOK.— By  L.  H.  BAILEY.  A  complete  handbook  of 
Propagation  and  Pollination  of  Plants.  Profusely  illustrated.  This 
valuable  little  manual  has  been  compiled  with  great  pains.  The  author 
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growth.  It  simply  tells,  plainly  and  briefly,  what  every  one  who  sows  a 
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CONTENTS : 

I. — SKEDAGE.    On  Propagation  by  Seed. 
II.— SEPARATION. 

III. — LAVERAGE.     Propagation  by  Layering. 

IV. — CUTTAGE.     Propagation  by  Cuttings. 
V. — GRAFTAGE. — Including  Grafting,  Budding,  Inarching,  etc. 

VI. — NURSERY  LIST. — This  is  the  great  featnre  of  the  book.  It  is  an 
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Acer  (MAPLE).  Sapindacece.  Stocks  are  grown  from  stratified  seeds, 
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able methods ;  in  fact,  of  The  NEW  Potato  Culture.  It  is  respectfully  sub- 
mitted that  these  experiments  at  The  Rural  grounds  have,  directly  and 
indirectly,  thrown  more  light  upon  the  various  problems  involved  in  suc- 
cessful potato-culture  than  any  other  experiments  that  have  been  carried 
on  in  America. 

Price,  cloth,  75  cents;  paper,  40  cents. 


UORTICULTURIST'S  RULE-BOOK. -By  Professor  L.  H.  BAILEY, 
Editor  of  American  Gardening,  Horticulturist  of  the  Cornell  Ex- 
periment Station,  and  Professor  of  Horticulture  in  Cornell  University-  It 
contains  in  handy  and  concise  form,  a  great  number  of  Rules  and  Recipes 
required  by  gardeners,  fruit-growers,  truckers,  florists,  farmers,  etc. 

Synopsis  of  Contents  :  Injurious  insects,  with  preventives  and  reme- 
dies. Fungicides  for  plant  diseases.  Plant  diseases,  with  preventives  and 
remedies.  Injuries  from  mice,  rabbits,  birds,  etc.,  with  preventives  and 
remedies.  Waxes  and  washes  for  grafting  and  for  wounds.  Cements, 
paints,  etc.  Seed  Tables:  Quantities  required  for  sowing  given  areas. 
Weight  and  size  of  seeds.  Longevity  of  seeds.  Time  required  for  seeds 
to  germinate.  Planting  Tables :  Dates  for  sowing  seeds  in  different  lati- 
tudes. Tender  and  hardy  vegetables.  Distances  apart  for  planting.  Ma- 
turity and  Yields  :  Time  required  for  maturity  of  vegetables  ;  for  bearing  of 
fruit  plants.  Average  yields  of  crops.  Keeping  and  storing  fruits  and  vege- 
tables. Propagation  of  Plants:  Ways  of  grafting  and  budding.  Meth- 
ods by  which  fruits  are  propagated.  Stocks  used  for  fruits.  Standard 
Measures  and  Sizes:  Standard  flower-pots.  Standard  and  legal  meas- 
ures. English  measures  for  sale  of  fruits  and  vegetables.  Quantities  of 
water  held  in  pipes  and  tanks.  Effect  of  wind  in  cooling  oft  glass  roofs. 
Per  cent,  of  light  reflected  from  glass  at  various  angles  of  inclination. 
Weights  of  various  varieties  of  apples  per  bushel.  Amount  of  various  pro- 
ducts yielded  by  given  quantities  of  fruit.  Labels.  London's  rules  of 
horticulture.  Rules  of  nomenclature.  Rules  for  exhibition.  Weather  signs 
and  protection  from  frost.  Collecting  and  Preserving:  How  to  make 
an  herbarium.  Preserving  and  printing  of  flowers  and  other  parts  of 
plants.  Keeping  cut-flowers.  How  to  collect  and  preserve  insects.  Chem- 
ical composition  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  and  seeds  fertilizers,  soils  and 
vegetables.  Names  and  Histories:  Vegetables  which  have  different  names 
in  England  and  America.  Derivation  of  names  of  various  fruits  and  vege- 
tables. Names  of  fruits  and  vegetables  in  various  languages.  Glossary. 
Calendar. 

Price,  cloth,  $i ;  paper,  60  cents. 

£ROSS-BREEDING    AND    HYBRIDIZING:— The   Philosophy    of  the 
Crossing  of  Plants   considered  with  reference  to  their  Cultivation — 
How  to  Improve  plants  by  Hybridizing.— By  L.  H.  BA'.LKV.     It  is  the  only 
book  accessible  to  American  horticulture  which  gives  the  reasons,  discour- 
agements, possibilities  and   limitations   of  Cross-Breeding.      Every  man 
who  owns  a  plant  should  have  it,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  post  him- 
self upon  one  of  the  leading  practices  of  the  day.     The  pamphlet  contains 
also  a  bibliography  of  the  subject,  including  over  400  entries. 
Price,  paper,  40  cents. 

pHEMICALSAND  CLOVER.— By  H.  W.  COLLINGWOOD,  Managing  Ed- 

itor  of  The  Rural  New-  Yorker.    A  concise  and  practical  discussion  of 

the  all-important  topic  of  commercial  fertilizers  in  connection  with  green 

manuring  in  bringing  up  worn-out  soils,  and  in  general  farm  practice* 

Price,  paper,  20  cents. 


A 


NNALS  OF  HORTICULTURE,  Vol.  IV.— Bright,  New,  (lean  and 
Fresh.  These  Annals  are  entirely  rewritten  every  year.  They  are 
the  only  records  of  the  progress  in  horticulture.  Exhaustive  lists  of  all 
the  plants  introduced  in  1892,  with  descriptions,  directories,  full  accounts 
of  all  new  discoveries,  new  tools,  and  a  wealth  of  practical  matter  for  Gar- 
deners, Fruit-Growers,  Florists,  Vegetable-Gardeners  ami  Landscape- 
Gardeners,  comprise  its  contents. 

Ready  soon.  Illustrated.  Vol.  IV.,  cloth  $i,  Vols.  I.,  II  and  III.  at 
the  same  price. 

I  N SECTS  AND  INSECTICIDES.— A  practical  Manual  concerning  Nox- 
ious Insects  and  the  Methods  of  Preventing  their  Injuries.    By  CLAR- 
ENCE M.  WEED,  Professor  of  Entomology  and  Zoology,  New  Hampshire 
State  College. 

I  think  that  you  have  gotten  together  a  very  useful  and  valuable  little 
book.— Dr.  C.  V.  RILEY,  U.  S.  Entomologist. 

It  is  excellent.  I  must  congratulate  you  on  the  skill  you  have  dis- 
played in  putting  in  the  most  important  insects,  and  the  complete  manner 
in  which  you  have  done  the  work. — JAMES  FLETCHER,  Dominion  Ento- 
mologist. 

I  am  well  pleased  with  it.    There  is  certainly  a  demand  for  just  such  a 
work. — Dr.  F.  M.  HEXAMER,  Editor  American  Agriculturist. 
Price,  cloth,  $[.25. 

THE    CAULIFLOWER.— By  A.    A.    CROZIER.      Teacher  and   Practical 

Origin  and  History  of  this  increasingly  important  and  always  de- 
licious vegetable. 

The  Cauliflower  Industry. — In  Europe.  In  the  United  States.  Impor- 
tation of  Cauliflowers. 

Management  of  the  Crop. — Soil.  Fertilizers.  Planting.  Cultivating, 
Harvesting  Keeping.  Marketing. 

The  Early  Crop. — Caution  against  planting  it  largely.  Special  direc- 
tions. Buttoning. 

Cauliflower  Regions  of  the  United  States.— Upper  Atlantic  Coast.  Lake 
Region.  Prairie  Region.  Cauliflowers  in  the  South.  The  Pacific  Coast. 

Insect  and  Fungous  Enemies.— Flea-beetle.  Cut-worms.  Cabbage- 
maggot.  Cabbage-worm.  Stem-rot.  Damping-off.  Black-leg. 

Cauliflower  Seed.— Importance  of  careful  selection.  Where  the  seed 
is  grown.  Influence  of  climate.  American-grown  seed. 

Varieties. — Descriptive  catalogue.  Order  of  earliness.  Variety  tests. 
Best  varieties. 

Broccoli. — Difference  between  Broccoli  and  Cauliflower.  Cultivation, 
,  use  and  varieties  of  Broccoli. 

Cooking  Cauliflower. — Digestibility.  Nutritive  value.  Chemical 
composition.  Recipes. 

Price,  cloth,  $i. 


DRACTICAL  FARM  CHEMISTRY.— A  Practical  Handbook  of  Profitable 

Crop-Feeding,  written  for  Practical  Men.     By  T.  GREINKR. 

Part  I.     The  Raw  Materials  of  Plant-Food. 

Part  II.     The  Available  Sources  of  Supply. 

Part  III.     Principles  of  Economic  Application,  or  Manuring  for  Money. 

This  work,  written  in  plainest  language,  is  intended  to  assist  the  farmer 
in  the  selection,  purchase  and  application  of  plant-foods.  If  you  wish  to 
learn  ways  how  to  save  money  in  procuring  manurial  substances,  and  how 
to  make  money  by  their  proper  use,  read  this  book.  If  you  want  your 
boy  to  learn  the  principle  of  crop-feeding,  and  become  a  successful  farmer, 
give  him  a  copy  of  this  book.  The  cost  of  the  book  will  be  returned  a  hun- 
dred-fold to  every  reader  who  peruses  its  pages  with  care  and  applies  its 
teachings  to  practice. 

Price,  cloth,  $i. 

C  PRAYING  CROPS.-Why,When  and  How  to  Do  It.— By  PROF.  CLAR- 
ENCE  M.  WEED.  A  handy  volume  of  about  100  pages;  illustrated. 
Covers  the  whole  field  of  the  insect  and  fungous  enemies  of  crops  for  which 
the  spray  is  used.  The  following  topics  are  discussed  in  a  concise,  practi- 
cal manner : 

Spraying  Against  Insects.  Feeding  Habits  of  Insects.  Spraying  Against 
Fungous  Diseases.  The  Philosophy  of  Spraying.  Spraying  Apparatus. 
Spraying  Trees  in  Blossom.  Precautions  in  Spraying.  Insecticides  used 
in  Spraying.  Fungicides  used  in  Spraying.  Combining  Insecticides 
and  Fungicides.  Cost  of  Spraying  Materials.  Prejudice  Against  Spray- 
ing. Spraying  the  Larger  Fruits.  Spraying  Small  Fruits  and  Nursery 
Stock.  Spraying  Shade  Trees,  Ornamental  Plants  and  Flowers.  Spray- 
ing Vegetables,  Field  Crops  and  Domestic  Animals. 

Price  in  stiff  paper  cover,  50  cents  ;  flexible  cloth,  75  cents. 


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